Mormon Lake is a shallow, intermittent

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 ...

located in northern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in Pleasant Valley. With an average depth of only , the surface area of the lake is extremely volatile and fluctuates seasonally. When full, the lake has a surface area of about , making it the largest natural lake in Arizona. In particularly dry times, the lake has been known to dry up, leaving behind a remnant

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

. The surrounding area, which lies within

Coconino National Forest The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre (751,000 ha) United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff. Originally established in 1898 as the "San Francisco Mountains National Forest Reserve", th ...

, established in 1908, is part of the largest continuous stand of

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

in North America, often hosting campers and hikers. The lake itself is occasionally stocked with

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing 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. Approximately 95% of ...

species such as

bullhead catfish ''Ameiurus'' is a genus of catfishes in the family Ictaluridae. It contains the three common types of bullhead catfish found in waters of the United States, the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas''), the brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus''), a ...

and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...

, but due to its intermittent nature, it may contain few or no fish following dry seasons. The name of the lake commemorates Mormon settlers who migrated to northern Arizona in the 1870s. The settlers, who located their main communities along the Little Colorado River, established various cottage industries in Pleasant Valley: a sawmill in 1876, a dairy in 1878, and a tannery in 1879. All were abandoned when the Little Colorado colonies were disbanded. The

archaeologists recorded the remains of the mill site, little more than a foundation and piles of rocks, about southeast of Mormon Lake, in 1978. Two small settlements, Mormon Lake Village and Lakeview, were developed along the lakeshore in wetter years, but lie a distance south of the average shoreline. On the north and west bluffs overlooking the lake are over 80 private USFS recreation residences in four tracts named, north to south, Rockledge, Dairy Springs, Montezuma Lodge, and Double Springs. They are built on National Forest parcels, and are not Coconino County

subdivisions Subdivision may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Subdivision (metre), in music * ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009 * "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2) * ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005 * "Subdivisions" (song), by Rush ...

. While these are generally used as summer homes; some may be occupied through the heavy winter snows, but water must be "hauled-in" with more consideration as their residential water storage is not winterized. The Forest Service operates older standard, "nostalgic" public campgrounds at Double Springs and Dairy Springs. Peaks from Mormon Lake

References

External links

Mormon Lake (Arizona Handbook)

Arizona Boating Locations Facilities Map

Arizona Fishing Locations Map

Video of Mormon Lake
{{authority control Lakes of Arizona Lakes of Coconino County, Arizona Coconino National Forest