Historical Marker
Bottomless Lakes State Park
Historical marker location:
US 380, Roswell vicinity, New Mexico
( east of Roswell)
When 19th century cowboys attempted to measure these lakes by tying lariats together, they found no bottom and declared the lakes “bottomless.” Today we know these sinkholes, formed by collapsed salt and gypsum deposits, are 17 to 90 feet in depth. The park was established in 1933 as New Mexico’s first state park.
In the early 1800s, New Mexico became an important center for trade along the Santa Fe Trail, which connected Missouri to Santa Fe. The trail was used by traders, trappers, and settlers to transport goods and supplies across the frontier.