Elephant Butte Lake State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Elephant Butte Lake State Park |
|
|---|---|
Elephant Butte Reservoir from Elephant Butte Lake State Park, April 2011
|
|
 Elephant Butte Lake State Park
Location in New Mexico
|
|
| Location | Sierra, New Mexico, United States |
| Area | 24,500 acres (99 km2) |
| Elevation | 4,500 ft (1,400 m) |
| Established | 1964 |
| Governing body | New Mexico State Parks Division |
Elephant Butte Lake State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, located 7 miles (11 km) north of Truth or Consequences along the shore of Elephant Butte Reservoir in Sierra County.
Description
The park is the largest state park in New Mexico and surrounds the state's largest reservoir. The 36,000-acre (150 km2) reservoir, created in 1916 across the Rio Grande, is 40 miles (64 km) long with more than 200 miles (320 km) of shoreline.
Recreation at Elephant Butte Reservoir is managed by the New Mexico State Parks under agreement with the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Elephant Butte Dam, constructed between 1911 and 1916, was a major engineering feat in its day. The enormous concrete dam is the major feature of the Elephant Butte National Register Historic District. New Mexico State Parks operates a visitor center that contains information on the construction of the dam. There are 3 developed camps on the lake, with over 200 camping and picnicking sites, concession-operated marinas, and stores.
Although the park is named after an elephant-shaped butte located at the head of the dam, an actual stegomastodon fossil was discovered there on June 9, 2014.
