Bottomless Lakes, NM

Bottomless Lakes State Park is a state park of New Mexico, USA, located along the Pecos River, about 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Roswell. Established in 1933, it was the first state park in New Mexico. It takes its name from nine small, deep lakes located along the eastern escarpment of the Pecos River valley. The escarpment is an ancient limestone reef, similar to the limestone mountains around Carlsbad Caverns, 80 miles (130 km) to the south. Caves formed within the limestone, and as the Pecos River eroded the escarpment, the caves eventually collapsed, leaving behind several deep, almost circular lakes known as cenotes.Most of the nine lakes are almost completely surrounded by cliffs, with the notable exceptions being Lea Lake and Lazy Lagoon. Lea Lake has a large, sandy shoreline on the western side and tall cliffs on the eastern side. The cliffs around Lazy Lagoon have been completely eroded away by the Pecos River, and the lake sits in a former channel of the river.Lazy Lagoon is the largest of the lakes, with a surface area of approximately 26 acres (110,000 m2). Although it is a single lake, it is actually made up of three separate sink holes. The surface of the Lazy Lagoon is nearly level with the surrounding salt flats, which makes it look very shallow. In actuality, the deepest of its three sink holes is 90 feet (27 m) deep.Lea Lake is the only lake in which swimming is allowed, and it has a beach and concession area which is popular in the summer.Devil's Inkwell is the smallest of the lakes, with a surface area of only 0.36 acres (1,500 m2). It gets its name from the dark color of the water which is caused by the steep sides of the cenote and algae growth within the lake.Figure Eight Lake is actually two lakes separated by the thin strip of land. When the water is very high the strip of land is covered, and the two nearly circular lakes join and take the shape of a figure eight. Irrigation in the Pecos Valley has lowered the water table, so the two lakes of Figure Eight lake rarely join to form a single lake anymore.Pasture Lake is the shallowest of the lakes, at only 18 feet (5.5 m) deep with a surface area of 0.76 acres (3,100 m2).