Snow Lake
Catron County, New Mexico539 acresView mapDirections
NMED publishes the water-quality measurements for Snow Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Impaired · Nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen)
- 12 ft max depth
- Public access
- Limited data
Snow Lake in Catron County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14.4 µg/L. Surface area: 539 acres.
Snow Lake is a 539-acre lake in Catron County, New Mexico with an estimated average depth of about 12 feet. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, NMED, last sampled 2019-10-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
What Snow Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
- Camping1 public campground nearby
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Snow Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity, temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Snow Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the New Mexico Environment Department and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Snow Lake
These are the measurements NMED publishes for Snow Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Very murky, less than 2.3 ft of visibility. Chlorophyll-a 14.4 µg/L. TSI 61.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 2.3ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | No reading The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. | |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 14.4µg/L | Measured, not scored The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 61 | Eutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity
Ask about Snow Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~12 ft est.
Surface area
539 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by NMED
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. New Mexico has not published bathymetry for Snow Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
80 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.7 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
7,329 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
Recreation & Access
- Snow LakePublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Public campgrounds near Snow Lake
- Dipping Vat0.9 km
Nearest public campgrounds in the USGS National Map inventory, within about 3 miles. An empty list means USGS records no campground that close, which is not the same as camping being unavailable. Where the source gives an official reservation link, it is used; the cabin and hotel search does not cover campsites. More camping lakes
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Snow Lake
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Fishing Snow Lake
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Snow Lake is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Snow Lake Dam (completed 1967), built primarily for recreation on the Snow Creek; earth-type dam, 92 ft tall and 325 ft long.
- Surface area
- 539 ac
- Normal storage
- 1,500 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 9,600 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 90 sq mi
- Hazard class
- High
- Owner
- NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND FISH
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID NM00058 · Operator website
EPA Impairment Status
Snow Lake is officially listed as impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) in the 2024 EPA reporting cycle (IR category 5).
Causes of impairment
Designated uses not supporting: Aquatic life.
Source: EPA ATTAINS assessment unit NM-2504_40 · Official waterbody report
Nearby Lakes in Catron County
Frequently asked questions about Snow Lake
Where is Snow Lake?
- Snow Lake is a lake in Catron County, New Mexico. Its water-quality measurements are published by NMED and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Snow Lake?
- Snow Lake in Catron County, New Mexico has water-quality measurements published by NMED, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 2.3 ft visibility. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 14.4 µg/L. Surface area: 539 acres.
Is Snow Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Snow Lake is listed impaired under Clean Water Act §303(d) (IR 5) for nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen), pH / acidity, temperature. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Snow Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Snow Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 12 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate. The lake covers 539 acres.
Are there boat ramps on Snow Lake?
- Snow Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Snow Lake. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Snow Lake?
- Snow Lake has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by New Mexico's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Are there campgrounds on Snow Lake?
- Snow Lake has 1 public campground from USGS The National Map within 5 km, including Dipping Vat. This is a location join, not a booking. Cabins and hotels are listed separately; campsite reservations use the official link when the source provides one.
Explore Snow Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2014–2019. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- NM Environmental Dept./SWQB
21NMEX_WQX5 samples · 2014–2019
Analytical methods
- 10200 H 2 ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination by spectrophotometer
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Impairment status from EPA ATTAINS 303(d) database
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory
Public campgrounds from USGS The National Map Structures, within about 3 miles