Blue Hole
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The Jewel of the City of Natural Lakes
Blue Hole appears in the midst of the high mesa desert like a great blue gem. Once known as Blue Lake, it is one of seven sister lakes connected underground by a vast system of water. This wonder defines Santa Rosa even as it seems to defy the surrounding red mesas.
Blue Hole was born of a geological phenomenon called the Santa Rosa Sink. The place is magic - as water always is in a land of little rain. Nomadic tribes, cowboys driving their dogies across the Pecos and Americans going west on the Mother Road, Route 66, all sought respite here.
In 1931 Blue Hole became a WPA fishery and morphed into the Blue Hole Recreation Area in the seventies. Most recently the City of Santa Rosa expanded the area to include the Blue Hole Dive and Conference Center.
Still, we never forget that real sapphire is the incredible beauty of the Blue Hole itself. The lake is unsurpassed for its clear, pure water. That's why we work so hard to protect it, ensuring, for example that surface runoff won't impair its purity. It's the crystalline water that draws them in. Visibility is an astonishing 100', due to the fact that the water completely renews itself every six hours - it's truly never the same lake twice. 3,000 gallons of water outflow every minute from the Blue Hole. What doesn't change is the temperature - a constant 62 degrees. Blue Hole's surface elevation is 4,620 feet, making it the equivalent to diving at 100 feet of depth at sea level.
Blue Hole appears in the midst of the high mesa desert like a great blue gem. Once known as Blue Lake, it is one of seven sister lakes connected underground by a vast system of water. This wonder defines Santa Rosa even as it seems to defy the surrounding red mesas.
Blue Hole was born of a geological phenomenon called the Santa Rosa Sink. The place is magic - as water always is in a land of little rain. Nomadic tribes, cowboys driving their dogies across the Pecos and Americans going west on the Mother Road, Route 66, all sought respite here.
In 1931 Blue Hole became a WPA fishery and morphed into the Blue Hole Recreation Area in the seventies. Most recently the City of Santa Rosa expanded the area to include the Blue Hole Dive and Conference Center.
Still, we never forget that real sapphire is the incredible beauty of the Blue Hole itself. The lake is unsurpassed for its clear, pure water. That's why we work so hard to protect it, ensuring, for example that surface runoff won't impair its purity. It's the crystalline water that draws them in. Visibility is an astonishing 100', due to the fact that the water completely renews itself every six hours - it's truly never the same lake twice. 3,000 gallons of water outflow every minute from the Blue Hole. What doesn't change is the temperature - a constant 62 degrees. Blue Hole's surface elevation is 4,620 feet, making it the equivalent to diving at 100 feet of depth at sea level.