Lake in Conejos Cañon, Col.

O'Sullivan, Timothy H., 1840-1882 · [1874]

Descriptive legend of view no. 16: Beaver Lake, the subject of this picture, is an instance of the remarkable ingenuity displayed by the beaver in the preparation of its home. This artificial pond occupies a cove-like valley which is bounded on one side, as is seen in the photograph, by the low promontory of earth, on the farther side of which the stream comes down, and hurries past the mouth of this nook in a series of rapids. At this point the beavers selected a site for their dam, and, building it, they drove the backwater into this basin, and thus was formed a sheltered and untroubled pool for their aquatic operations and abode. Beaver Lake is nearly a half-mile in width. The waters which feed it come directly from the high mountains and are marvelously clear, as, for illustration, notice the reflection of the distant pine tree from its surface. The lake lies at an altitude of 9,000 feet above the sea, at a distance of 20 miles from the mouth of the Conejos Cañon, one of the most beautiful and inviting valleys to be found in the mountains of Colorado. For other views of this cañon see the following three photographs in succession.