Bottomless Lakes Stage Strongbox — Chaves County

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Bottomless Lakes Stage Strongbox — Chaves County

Lost Treasure NM • Chaves County County
Description
Chaves County legend of a stage-line strongbox buried near Bottomless Lakes — the sinkhole lakes east of Roswell that served as a landmark on Pecos Valley freight routes.
Historical Notes
Bottomless Lakes State Park east of Roswell preserves a chain of deep sinkhole lakes on the Pecos escarpment. Stage and freight traffic between Roswell, Hagerman, and the Caprock country passed the distinctive lakes before modern highways. Stage-payroll caches appear throughout New Mexico guidebooks at remote watering points and escarpment landmarks. The lakes formed in gypsum sinkholes of the Seven Rivers Formation — source of the "Pecos diamonds" quartz crystals prized by collectors. Coordinates approximate Bottomless Lakes State Park east of Roswell in Chaves County.
Status / Verification legend — Legendary or approximate

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