Chocorua Lake is a picturesque

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in northeast

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

with commanding views of the summit of

Mount Chocorua Mount Chocorua () is a mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the easternmost peak of the Sandwich Range. Although the mountain is not outstanding for its elevation, it is very rugged and has excellent views of the surrounding lakes, ...

. It is approximately long (north-south) with a maximum width of (east-west), covering , and a maximum depth of . The lake is most noted for its calm, serene setting. There is little to no

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

surrounding it, and its views of the bald summit of Mount Chocorua are unblemished by

radio antennas In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies a ...

Geography

Chocorua Lake, also commonly called Lake Chocorua, is located in east-central New Hampshire in the town of

Tamworth, New Hampshire Tamworth is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,812 at the 2020 census. Tamworth includes the villages of Chocorua, South Tamworth, Wonalancet, and Whittier. The White Mountain National Forest is to the n ...

. It is located in the Ossipee Lake watershed south of the White Mountains region. The watershed is of mostly protected forest under the management of the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

.EPA Success Stories
/ref> The main

inflow Inflow may refer to: * Inflow (hydrology), the water entering a body of water * Inflow (meteorology) Inflow is the flow of a fluid into a large collection of that fluid. Within meteorology, inflow normally refers to the influx of warmth and moi ...

into the lake is the

Chocorua River The Chocorua River is a river located in eastern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Bearcamp River, part of the Ossipee Lake / Saco River drainage basin, watershed leading to the Atlantic Ocean. The Chocorua River rises ...

from the north, which drains the south side of Mount Chocorua.University of New Hampshire, Chocorua Watershed Project Phase II
Stratton Brook flows into the west side of the lake. The lake's outflow is to the south, through Little Chocorua Lake, then through a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

outfall into the Chocorua River. (Though the lake has a dammed outlet, it is a natural lake, not a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

, with the dam serving to maintain the water level of the lake at precisely above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

.) The water from the Chocorua Lake outfall and the Chocorua River eventually reaches the Bearcamp River and enters Ossipee Lake, then the

Saco River The Saco River (Abenaki: ''Sαkóhki'') is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean ...

and finally the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

on the coast of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

Recreation

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, canoeing, kayaking, 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 ...

are popular recreation activities on the lake.

Outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

s of any kind are prohibited from using the lake. In addition,

campfire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...

s and cooking fires of any kind are prohibited from the shore of the lake.

Canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

and kayak access is available from The Grove off of

New Hampshire Route 16 New Hampshire Route 16 (NH 16) is a , north–south state highway in New Hampshire, United States, the main road connecting the Seacoast region to the Lakes Region and the White Mountains. Much of its length is close to the border with Maine. ...

on the east side of the lake, and from the road near the bridge on the south end of the lake. There are beaches accessible from Route 16 on the east side of the lake. In addition, there are many hiking trails around the lake; most notable are the trails leading to the summit of Mount Chocorua just north of the lake.

Wildlife

Fish species that live in Chocorua Lake include brook trout, smallmouth bass,

black bullhead The black bullhead or black bullhead catfish (''Ameiurus melas'') is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...

, rainbow trout and

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) 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 ...

. Bird species that live in or migrate through the vicinity include the bald eagle, loon, and

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

Water quality and environmental concerns

Chocorua Lake is a fragile lake due to how shallow it is. It has an average depth of 12 feet (3.7 m) and a maximum depth of 27 feet (8.2 m). Because of the lake's shallowness, sunlight reaches most of the

water column A water column is a conceptual column of water from the surface of a sea, river or lake to the bottom sediment.Munson, B.H., Axler, R., Hagley C., Host G., Merrick G., Richards C. (2004).Glossary. ''Water on the Web''. University of Minnesota-D ...

. Therefore, even low concentrations of nutrients can cause plant life and algae to grow quickly, obscuring the sunlight needed for their growth, leading to a loss of

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...

in the water. Due to overdevelopment of the region and

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...

from New Hampshire Route 16,

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

and other nutrients started showing up in the lake in higher concentrations. Algae, lily pads, and other plant life grew at a rapid rate and caused the

clarity Clarity may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Clarity, a magic spell in the online game ''EverQuest'' * Clarity, a fictional drug from the film '' Minority Report'' Music Albums * ''Clarity'' (Jimmy Eat World album) ...

of the lake to decline. This can increase the risk of dead zones to occur in the lake. The Chocorua Lake Association (CLA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the

New Hampshire Department of Transportation The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Commissioner of NHDOT is Victoria Sheehan. The main office of the NHDOT is located in the J. O. Morton Building in Concord. F ...

(NHDOT), and the Town of Tamworth began what was called the "Berms and Swales Project" in September 2000 to build

berm A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a border/ separation ...

s, swales, and other filtering devices to control runoff and to filter

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

s and nutrients. This critical work with the partnership among the various agencies has caused an 82% percent decline in phosphorus nutrients since 2000. This has been noted on the EPA website as one of it
success stories

Scenery

The lake is surrounded by forests with very little visible human development. This provides a very natural setting that is rare to find around most lakes today due to houses, restaurants, hotels, and docks that surround most lakes. This is mostly due to the

conservation easements In the United States, a conservation easement (also called conservation covenant, conservation restriction or conservation servitude) is a power invested in a qualified private land conservation organization (often called a "land trust") or gove ...

written into the property deeds of about 60 landowners that preserved the forested buffers that surround the lake. Visible to the north of the lake is the view of the bald summit of

, which tops out at an elevation above .

References

External links

Chocorua Lake Conservancy (CLC)
{{Saco River Lakes of Carroll County, New Hampshire New Hampshire placenames of Native American origin