# Elephant Butte Lake has an elephant in it. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 13, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724 "2014-06-13T19:15:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/1 "2014-06-13T19:15:37Z")
Well, technically, the fossil remains of a [stegomastodon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stegomastodon). Close enough. Story here: [http://www.lcsun-news.com/las\_cruces-news/ci\_25950992/scientist-stegomastodon-skull-at-elephant-butte-significant-find](http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_25950992/scientist-stegomastodon-skull-at-elephant-butte-significant-find) [Elephant Butte Reservoir](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_Butte_Reservoir) was named after Elephant Butte, a mountaintop that, viewed from a certain angle, and with a lot of imagination, sort of looks like an elephant. Being in the middle of North America, we never dreamed that there might be a real pachyderm lurking in the bushes! (Or the rock formations.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/2 "2014-06-13T19:25:34Z")
"like a robust version of the modern elephant. It weighed about 6,000 kilograms (13,000 lb). " Holy cow. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/3 "2014-06-13T19:27:06Z")
Elephant Butt Lake! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/4 "2014-06-14T17:59:59Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Elephant Butt Lake! 🙂 They are digging up the skull. Did not say if they found the other end. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/5 "2014-06-14T20:12:20Z")
Ah, understand now. I think. Out in the middle of the desert basin called _Jornada del Muerte_, on the outskirts of Alamogordo, there is or was a dive shop – at least, the building had the red square with the diagonal white stripe painted large on the front. It looked so incongruous. Elephant Butte lake is still nearly two hours from there by road, but at least is makes a whisker of sense. Like the Seattle Coffee shop in T-or-C, New Mexico seems full of incongruities. We still have not found that left turn in Albuquerque, though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/6 "2014-06-14T20:29:31Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > [Elephant Butte Reservoir](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_Butte_Reservoir) was named after Elephant Butte, a mountaintop that, viewed from a certain angle, and with a lot of imagination, sort of looks like an elephant. [Elephant Mountain](https://www.flickr.com/photos/barstowsteve/369994006/), Barstow, CA. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/7 "2014-06-14T20:43:29Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Ah, understand now. I think. Out in the middle of the desert basin called _Jornada del Muerte_, on the outskirts of Alamogordo, there is or was a dive shop – at least, the building had the red square with the diagonal white stripe painted large on the front. It looked so incongruous. Elephant Butte lake is still nearly two hours from there by road, but at least is makes a whisker of sense. Like the Seattle Coffee shop in T-or-C, New Mexico seems full of incongruities. > > We still have not found that left turn in Albuquerque, though. New Mexico and Arizona are the two driest states in the union, yet have more boats per capita than any other states. Scuba diving is quite popular. Swimming in the lake, it is an immense green mass, with visibility measured in inches. Divers tell me that, about six feet below the surface, the temperature drops sharply, the algae disappears, and the water is crystal-clear. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/8 "2014-06-15T07:57:47Z")
An interesting geographical manifestation of [Nominative Determinism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/9 "2014-06-15T15:47:56Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > We still have not found that left turn in Albuquerque, though. Once, I should have taken a left turn in Santa Fe. I was pretty sure I wasn’t on the right road to Alamosa but I didn’t have GPS so I decided to keep driving at least until there was a road sign to let me know what road I was on. Then I drove over a ridge and suddenly saw the canyon of Taos right smack in front of me. I had never been there, but recognized it from pictures so I knew where I was. So I stayed there instead because it had hotels. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/10 "2014-06-15T21:43:50Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Once, I should have taken a left turn in Santa Fe. I was pretty sure I wasn’t on the right road to Alamosa … I am skeptical that you ever _can_ be on the right road to Alamosa. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/11 "2014-06-16T13:31:58Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Scuba diving is quite popular. Swimming in the lake, it is an immense green mass, with visibility measured in inches. Divers tell me that, about six feet below the surface, the temperature drops sharply, the algae disappears, and the water is crystal-clear. Well, if you know any divers and they find a pair of 50 year old kids glasses down there… those are mine. I can vouch for that thermocline. After the glasses fell off of my face I dove in the water and followed them about 15 feet down until I was worried that a giant craw-fish might get me. (hey, I was ten). very cold. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-butte-lake-has-an-elephant-in-it/690724/12 "2014-06-16T17:20:55Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > "like a robust version of the modern elephant. It weighed about 6,000 kilograms (13,000 lb). " > > Holy cow. That’s not actually all that impressive - that’s about the average size of an average modern elephant, which generally come in between 7 and 11 feet tall, and somewhere around 3 tonnes.