Bonita Lake

New Mexico · United States · House

There is a whole town under this water. Around the camping grounds you can still find miners' carts and lanterns lying where they were left.

Bonita Lake near Ruidoso, New Mexico was made over a mining prospect, and there is an entire town beneath the water.

Around the camping areas you can still find what the miners left: carts, lanterns, and a good deal else, largely untouched.

The country around it is full of abandoned gold workings.

There is a house in one part of the area, and campers report things there.

A drowned town is not unusual in the American west. Reservoirs went in through the twentieth century and the settlements in the valleys went under, sometimes with the buildings left standing. When the water drops in a dry year, they come back.

What makes this one striking is what is above the waterline. The equipment lying around the shore belongs to men who walked away and did not come back for it.

The lake is a reservoir and access is restricted in places.

FAQ

Where is Bonita Lake located?

Bonita Lake is in New Mexico, United States.