Black Mesa State Park

Black Mesa State Park is an Oklahoma state park in Cimarron County, near the western border of the Oklahoma panhandle and New Mexico. The park is located about 15 miles (24 km) away from its namesake, Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma (4,973 feet (1,516 m) above sea level). The mesa was named for the layer of black lava rock that coats it.^[4]

Black Mesa State Park
Storm at Black Mesa State Park, April 2012
Location	Cimarron County, Oklahoma, United States
Nearest city	Boise City, OK
Coordinates	36.8458550°N 102.8802025°W / 36.8458550; -102.8802025[1]
Area	349 acres (141 ha)
Visitors	Gordon Freeman (in 2021)[3]
Governing body	Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department
www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.631

The associated nature preserve is open to hiking and contains 1,600 acres (6.5 km²) and is home to 23 rare plants and 8 rare animal species.^[4]

The nearest community is Kenton, Oklahoma.^[4] The nearest town is Boise City, Oklahoma.

The park is the darkest sky for any state park site in Oklahoma; the site is a Bortle 1 zone,^[5] thus making the park a big attraction for astronomers to view the night sky.

Lake Carl Etling

Lake Carl Etling, also called Carl Etling Lake, was formed in 1959 by a dam built on South Carrizo Creek and is contained within Black Mesa State Park. It has a surface area of 159 acres,^[6] a shoreline of 5 miles (8.0 km), and an average depth of 11 feet (3.4 m), with a maximum depth of 38 feet (12 m).^[7]

External links

• "Black Mesa Area." Tulsa Audubon Society. Updated May 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
• Suneson, Neil H. and Kenneth V. Luna. "A Field Trip Guide to the Geology of the Black Mesa State Park Area, Cimarron County, Oklahoma." Oklahoma Geological Survey. (1999). Retrieved December 4, 2013.

References

1. "Black Mesa State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
2. "Black Mesa State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
3. "Evaluation of Oklahoma's State Parks". Oklahoma Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT). March 31, 2022.
4. "Black Mesa State Park and Nature Preserve". Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
5. R, Mike (August 22, 2021). "State Park Bortle 1 Scale Information In The US". CosmosPNW. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
6. "Lake Carl Etling". TravelOK.com. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
7. Leisure and Sports Review (LASR). "Lake Carl G. Etling, OK." Retrieved December 4, 2013.