| Bluewater Lake State Park | |
|---|---|
  Location of Bluewater Lake State Park in New Mexico | |
| Location | Cibola, New Mexico, United States |
| Coordinates | 35°17′40″N108°6′35″W / 35.29444°N 108.10972°W Coordinates: 35°17′40″N108°6′35″W / 35.29444°N 108.10972°W |
| Area | 3,000 acres (12 km2) |
| Elevation | 7,400 ft (2,300 m) |
| Established | 1937 [1] |
| Governing body | New Mexico State Parks Division |
Bluewater Lake State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, located in the Zuni Mountains 30 miles (48 km) west of Grants. [2] The park itself encompasses approximately 3,000 acres (12 km2), and the lake has a surface area of approximately 1,200 acres (4.9 km2).
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational potential. There are state parks under the administration of the government of each U.S. state, some of the Mexican states, and in Brazil. The term is also used in the Australian state of Victoria. The equivalent term used in Canada, Argentina, South Africa and Belgium, is provincial park. Similar systems of local government maintained parks exist in other countries, but the terminology varies.
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States of America; its capital and cultural center is Santa Fe, which was founded in 1610 as capital of Nuevo México, while its largest city is Albuquerque with its accompanying metropolitan area. It is one of the Mountain States and shares the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona; its other neighboring states are Oklahoma to the northeast, Texas to the east-southeast, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua to the south and Sonora to the southwest. With a population around two million, New Mexico is the 36th state by population. With a total area of 121,590 sq mi (314,900 km2), it is the fifth-largest and sixth-least densely populated of the 50 states. Due to their geographic locations, northern and eastern New Mexico exhibit a colder, alpine climate, while western and southern New Mexico exhibit a warmer, arid climate.
The Zuni Mountains are a mountain range located mainly in Cibola County of northwestern New Mexico, with a small portion extending into McKinley County. The range is located largely in the Cibola National Forest, lying south of Interstate 40 from southeast of Gallup to southwest of Grants. The range is about sixty miles long and forty miles wide. The highest point is Mount Sedgwick, 9,256 feet ; elevations in the range go down to 6,400 feet.
The park is popular for fishing and bird watching, with 68 different species of birds either calling the park home, or passing through the park on their annual migrations. The lake is stocked with rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, and catfish. Its high altitude (7,400 ft) and location in northern New Mexico cause the lake to freeze over in the winter, allowing ice fishing to take place.
The rainbow trout is a trout and species of salmonid native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coastal rainbow trout(O. m. irideus) or Columbia River redband trout (O. m. gairdneri) that usually returns to fresh water to spawn after living two to three years in the ocean. Freshwater forms that have been introduced into the Great Lakes and migrate into tributaries to spawn are also called steelhead.
The cutthroat trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii) is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarkii was given to honor explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Catfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia and the piraíba of South America, to detritivores, and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called the candiru, Vandellia cirrhosa. There are armour-plated types and there are also naked types, neither having scales. Despite their name, not all catfish have prominent barbels. Members of the Siluriformes order are defined by features of the skull and swimbladder. Catfish are of considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food. Many of the smaller species, particularly the genus Corydoras, are important in the aquarium hobby. Many catfish are nocturnal, but others are crepuscular or diurnal.
Bluewater Creek
Trailhead
Cliffs along Bluewater Creek
