Black Canyon Lake is a lake in

Navajo County, Arizona Navajo County is in the northern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 106,717. The county seat is Holbrook. Navajo County comprises the Show Low, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area. Navajo County co ...

, United States.

Description

The lake was built along the

Mogollon Rim The Mogollon Rim ( or or ) is a topographical and geological feature cutting across the northern half of the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately , starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border ...

in 1964 by the

Arizona Game and Fish Department The Arizona Game and Fish Department is a state agency of Arizona, headquartered in Phoenix. The agency is tasked with conserving, enhancing, and restoring Arizona's diverse wildlife resources and habitats through protection and management progra ...

to provide water

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

opportunities for the public. Despite being affected by the Rodeo-Chediski Fire in 2002, Black Canyon Lake remains a popular and beautiful spot for

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

. Since of the fire, the entire area around Black Canyon Lake is open for day use only due to the danger of falling trees. The facilities are maintained by Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests division of the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

Forest Service. Black Canyon Lake has , with a maximum depth of and an average depth of . Like other Rim lakes, Black Canyon is deep, and historically has been low in nutrients. Because of nutrients from the fire and ash, Black Canyon Lake has been managed as a put-grow-and-take fishery.

The Department ''The Department'' is a satirical comedy on BBC Radio 4 about a secret organisation with the power to influence every aspect of your life. Chris Addison, John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman star as Research Team 32, an eccentric three-man think-tan ...

stocked sub-catchable and catchable-sized

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

in the spring and early summer, with additional catchables stocked in the fall. However, today only catchable-sized

are stocked in the lake because of poor water quality. Although some trees around the lake are charred, the perimeter of the lake is forested and scenic.

Location

The lake is located southwest of Heber in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests at an elevation of . Access is restricted in the winter when roads are closed due to snow, generally December to early April.

Fish species

Catchable-sized

are the only fish species stock into Black Canyon Lake. However, illegally introduced

green sunfish The green sunfish (''Lepomis cyanellus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. A panfish popular with anglers, the green sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. They are us ...

and

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...

reproduce in this body of water.

Fathead minnow Fathead minnow (''Pimephales promelas''), also known as fathead or tuffy, is a species of temperate freshwater fish belonging to the genus ''Pimephales'' of the cyprinid family. The natural geographic range extends throughout much of North Ameri ...

s are also found in this reservoir.

Crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

are abundant in Black Canyon Lake as well.https://www.fws.gov/southwest/federal_assistance/PDFs/Chapter%206b%20Middle%20Little%20Colorado%20River%20Sub-Watershed.pdf

References

Sources

References

External links

Arizona Fishing Locations Map

Arizona Boating Locations Facilities Map

Video of Black Canyon Lake
{{authority control Reservoirs in Arizona Lakes of Navajo County, Arizona Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests 1964 establishments in Arizona