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Apache Lake (Arizona)
Encyclopedia
Apache Lake is one of four artificial reservoirs created along the Salt River
in central Arizona
as part of the Salt River Project
. The lake is located near the Apache Trail
about 65 miles (104 km) northeast of Phoenix
. Apache Lake was formed by Horse Mesa Dam
which was completed in 1927. The second largest of the four Salt River Project reservoirs (Theodore Roosevelt Lake is the largest), Apache Lake is located about 5 miles (8 km) downstream from Theodore Roosevelt Lake and upstream from Canyon Lake
and Saguaro Lake
.
The surface area of the lake is 2568 acre (1,039.2 ha) at full capacity and it can store 254138 acre.ft of water.
Apache Lake is a popular recreation destination within the Tonto National Forest
, which is the authority that manages the facilities located at the lake. The lake is located along the Apache Trail and a number of other hiking trails can be found in the area. Many species of fish
can be found in the lake, including largemouth
, smallmouth
and yellow bass
, crappie
, sunfish
, both channel
and flathead catfish
, walleye
and carp
.
Salt River (Arizona)
The Salt River is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about long. Its drainage basin is about large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the Verde River...
in central Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
as part of the Salt River Project
Salt River Project
The Salt River Project is the umbrella name for two separate entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, an agency of the state of Arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the Phoenix metropolitan area, and the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association, a...
. The lake is located near the Apache Trail
Apache Trail
The Apache Trail in Arizona was a stagecoach trail that ran through the Superstition Mountains. It was named the Apache Trail after the Apache Indians who originally used this trail to move through the Superstition Mountains....
about 65 miles (104 km) northeast of Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. Apache Lake was formed by Horse Mesa Dam
Horse Mesa Dam
The Horse Mesa Dam is a concrete thin arch dam located Northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. The dam is long, high and was built between 1924-27. The dam includes three conventional hydroelectric generating units totaling 32 megawatts and a pumped-storage unit with a capacity of 97 MW. The dam forms...
which was completed in 1927. The second largest of the four Salt River Project reservoirs (Theodore Roosevelt Lake is the largest), Apache Lake is located about 5 miles (8 km) downstream from Theodore Roosevelt Lake and upstream from Canyon Lake
Canyon Lake (Arizona)
Canyon Lake is one of four reservoirs that were formed by the damming of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona.The lake was formed by the Mormon Flat Dam, which was completed in 1925 after two years of construction. Canyon Lake, with a surface area of , is the third and smallest of four lakes...
and Saguaro Lake
Saguaro Lake, Arizona
Saguaro Lake is the fourth reservoir on the Salt River formed by the Stewart Mountain Dam in the U.S. state of Arizona. The lake is off State Route 87, about halfway between Phoenix, Arizona and the ghost town, Sunflower. The dammed end of the lake is at , at an elevation of...
.
The surface area of the lake is 2568 acre (1,039.2 ha) at full capacity and it can store 254138 acre.ft of water.
Apache Lake is a popular recreation destination within the Tonto National Forest
Tonto National Forest
The Tonto National Forest, encompassing 2,873,200 acres , is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the fifth largest national forest in the United States. The Tonto National Forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet in the Sonoran Desert to 7,400 feet...
, which is the authority that manages the facilities located at the lake. The lake is located along the Apache Trail and a number of other hiking trails can be found in the area. Many species of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
can be found in the lake, including largemouth
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, smallmouth
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
and yellow bass
Yellow bass
The yellow bass or barfish, Morone mississippiensis, is a freshwater fish native to the south and midwestern United States. Though sometimes confused with white bass or striped bass, it is distinguished by its yellow belly and the broken pattern in its lowermost stripes...
, crappie
Crappie
Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...
, sunfish
Centrarchidae
The sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies...
, both channel
Channel catfish
Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...
and flathead catfish
Flathead catfish
The flathead catfish , also called the yellow cat, opelousas, and shovelhead cat, are large North American freshwater catfish. This is the only species of the genus Pylodictis...
, walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
and carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
.