Picacho Reservoir

32°50′04″N 111°29′22″W / 32.83444°N 111.48944°W / 32.83444; -111.48944^[1]TypereservoirBasin countriesUnited StatesSurface area50 acres (20 ha)Average depth10 ft (3.0 m)Surface elevation1,500 ft (460 m)

Picacho Reservoir is just 11 miles (18 km) south of Coolidge in central Arizona, United States. The reservoir was built in the 1920s as part of the San Carlos Irrigation Project. The reservoir's original purpose was water storage and flow regulation for the Florence-Casa Grande and Casa Grande Canals. The lake's design capacity was 24,500 acre-feet (30,200,000 m³) of water, with a surface area of over 2 square miles (5.2 km²). Over the years, siltation and vegetation have reduced the capacity and surface area, so that much of the reservoir is a shallow marsh with extensive stands of cattails and rushes. Water level is highly variable, and the lake is completely dry in some years.

Fish species

• Largemouth Bass
• Crappie
• Sunfish
• Catfish (Channel)
• Tilapia
• Carp
• Bullfrogs

References

• Information and Education Division (2007), Arizona Fishin' Holes, Phoenix, AZ: Arizona Game and Fish Department

External links

• Arizona Boating Locations Facilities Map
• Arizona Fishing Locations Map
• Video of Picacho Reservoir
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Picacho Reservoir Dam
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. AZ-50-G, "San Carlos Irrigation Project, Picacho Reservoir, South of Gila River, Coolidge, Pinal County, AZ", 3 photos, 91 photo caption pages