New Mexico Roads/Non-Roads - NM 195/Elephant Butte Lake

NM 195 and
"And when the elephant stood up, there was a lake! And so they named it..."



Diamond in the desert? Well, euphemistically, maybe that's what an elephant would leave behind...


Looking northeast at the lake as I head east on NM 195.


The view to the west and south.


The view east, to the south of the lake.


More lake views, and the dam at the southern end. NM 195 once crossed this dam, but it's now closed to all traffic. It would be tough for a state highway to have a one-lane segment that long, anyway.


WB at NM 179, now facing a lonely dead-end but once directing traffic from a through route. However, the sign seems to have been taken from elsewhere. Truth or Consequences was straight ahead and Las Cruces was to the right, and there's no right turn here. Given that old US 85 always ran through downtown T or C, this may have been at I-25 Exit 79. Later on, the top line was amended to read "Elephant Butte 2" with no arrow before its current appearance. Time to replace!


More mountain views to the east and south. The rest is of the lake:



Onto NM 179 for scenery
Back to New Mexico Roads
Back to Roads
Back to New Mexico Non-Roads
Back to Non-Roads