Turks Pond
Baca County, Colorado33 acresView mapDirections
Colorado WQCD publishes the water-quality measurements for Turks Pond. Here is what has been measured.
- Public access
- Limited data
Turks Pond in Baca County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 0.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 85 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 139.7 µg/L. Surface area: 33 acres.
Turks Pond is a 33-acre lake in Baca County, Colorado. Limited fish-species data available. Public access is available with 1 public boat landing.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, CDPHE, last sampled 2023-07-17. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Turks Pond covers about 33 acres in Baca County. It has one public boat landing. For a place on the water, look through cabin and lake-house rentals near Turks Pond on Vrbo. For a hotel or motel room, Booking.com and Expedia both search around the lake.
What Turks Pond is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Boat launch1 documented ramp
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Turks Pond is safe to swim in today is a call for the Water Quality Control Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Turks Pond
These are the measurements Colorado WQCD publishes for Turks Pond, 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 0.7 ft of visibility. Phosphorus 85 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 139.7 µg/L. TSI 77.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 0.7ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 85µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 140µg/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. | 77 | Hypereutrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Very high nutrients, dense algae, poor clarity
Ask about Turks Pond
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Surface area
33 acres
Public access
Yes
Listed by Colorado WQCD
No bathymetric survey has been published for Turks Pond, so its depth is not documented here.
Recreation & Access
- Turks Pond State Wildlife AreaPublic
Named access points in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory, within about 3 miles. More lakes with boat ramps
Stays via Stay22
Stays near Turks Pond
Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Turks Pond in Baca County, Colorado — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.
Top-rated places to stay near Turks Pond
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Fishing Turks Pond
Reservoir Info (USACE NID)
Turks Pond is a man-made reservoir impounded by the Turks Pond (completed 1952), built primarily for recreation on the Horse Creek-Tr; earth-type dam, 38 ft tall and 1,300 ft long.
- Surface area
- 33 ac
- Normal storage
- 313 ac-ft
- Max storage
- 544 ac-ft
- Drainage area
- 7 sq mi
- Hazard class
- Low
- Owner
- COLORADO PARKS AND WILDLIFE
All listed purposes: Recreation;Irrigation.
Source: USACE National Inventory of Dams, NID ID CO00755 · Operator website
Nearby Lakes in Baca County
Frequently asked questions about Turks Pond
Where is Turks Pond?
- Turks Pond is a lake in Baca County, Colorado. Its water-quality measurements are published by Colorado WQCD and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Turks Pond?
- Turks Pond in Baca County, Colorado has water-quality measurements published by Colorado WQCD, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 0.7 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 85 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 139.7 µg/L. Surface area: 33 acres.
Is Turks Pond safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Are there boat ramps on Turks Pond?
- Turks Pond has 1 documented boat landing in the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory. Named access points include Turks Pond State Wildlife Area. Public access is listed as yes.
Can I fish at Turks Pond?
- Turks Pond 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 Colorado's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Turks Pond across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
4 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment-WQCD
21COL001_WQX4 samples · 2023
Analytical methods
- Secchi disk depth measurement
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Nitrogen in Water by Pyrolysis Detection
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
Named boat-access points from the USGS National Boat Ramps inventory