Nelson Reservoir is a reservoir located in Apache County, Arizona between

Springerville Springerville is a town in Apache County, Arizona, United States, within the White Mountains. Its postal ZIP Code is 85938. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,961. Springerville sits at an elevation of above sea level. A ...

and

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

. The Reservoir is a long and narrow lake which follows the Nutrioso Creek Valley for nearly a mile. Fish that remain in Nelson Reservoir after summer stockings can grow to good size, making it a popular fishing site with local anglers.

Locations

Nelson Reservoir is situated at near the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests; its facilities are managed by that authority. It is located on the south of Correjo Crossing, a pass in the wall of the canyon and site of prehistoric occupation.

Description

Nelson Reservoir is located on Nutrioso Creek. It has with a maximum depth of and an average depth of . When the lake stops spilling in the spring, it is stocked with up to 20,000 catchable-sized rainbow trout until Labor Day. Stocking may end sooner if water quality conditions become unfavorable. Nelson Reservoir is subject to

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

blooms and excessive weed growth as summer progresses. The lake contains native bluehead suckers and illegally introduced black crappie and green sunfish. The lake once contained brown, cutthroat and brook trout, but none remain today.

History

Nelson Reservoir was named after Edmond Nelson, who owned the land in 1918 and had fished there as early as 1891. Nelson and other family members began building the Nelson Reservoir in February 1891. After many years of work it was completed and provided water to the farms in the area, which was its original purpose.''Nelson Family History'' by Mansel Hyrum Nelson, publisher J. Grant Stevenson, 1970.

Fish species

* Rainbow *

Crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

* Sunfish

References

Sources

Footnotes

External links

Arizona boating locations facilities map

Arizona fishing locations map
{{authority control Reservoirs in Apache County, Arizona Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests Reservoirs in Arizona 1891 establishments in Arizona Territory