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Article: Elephant Butte Lake State Park has become N.M.'s desert retreat.(The Dallas Morning News)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- June 18, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ELEPHANT BUTTE STATE PARK, N.M. _ No one's surprised to find prickly pear cactus, jack rabbits, lizards-in-a-hurry and sand, sand, sand in the desert.
But a lake nearly 40 miles long and three miles wide? That's remarkable.
And Elephant Butte Lake State Park can claim it all: big water, cactus, rushing reptiles, sassy jacks and true grit. Plus memorable scenery and fish so big that anglers have no reason to fib.
New Mexico's largest and most popular state park _ a magnet for 1.7 million visitors last year _ grew from a project to irrigate thirsty Southwestern farmlands. The plan was: Build a dam. Capture waters of the Rio Grande. And when dry ...