MARTINEZ LAKE
Martinez Lake Resort was started in 1955
as a fishing camp and has expanded over the last 35 years into a year-round
resort that caters to winter vistors, sightseers, fishermen, rock hounds,
boaters, hunters and water skiers.
The Imperial Reservoir was created upon
the completion of the Imperial Dam in 1935. The chain of lakes along the
Colorado River consists of Lake Powell, Lake Mead, Lake Mojave, Lake Havasu
and Imperial Reservoir. The entire system holds 63 million acre feet of
water and flows past Martinez Lake at the rate of 4,000 to 16,000 cubic
feet per second, depending upon the irrigation needs and remaining storage
capacity.
The river, prior to completion of the
Dams System, was an active waterway where steamboats carried cargo and
passengers up and down the river from the Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California)
to Mojave. In the late 1800's, steamboats and stagecoaches were the only
means of transportation along the river.
Because of the heavy gold and silver
mining, the traffic was intense with many medium-sized towns surrounding
the productive mines. To this day, there are gold and silver mines along
the Colorado River in Yuma, La Paz, and Riverside Counties that are still
in operation.
Immediately to the north of Martinez
Lake Resort is the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge that encompasses 55,000
acres and fronts on both sides of the river for 35 miles. The refuge is
a stop-over for migratory birds, with some 235 species of all types of
birds spotted over the years. Mammals roaming the refuge include deer,
big horn sheep, wild horses, wild burros, coyotes, raccoons, fox, beaver,
muskrat and bobcats.
For the sightseer there are historic
boat trips which vary in time and cost. For more information on these trips,
contact the Yuma River Tours Office.
For the fisherman, there are hundreds
of miles of shoreline on lakes; channels within a short distance of Martinez
Lake Resort, and; the fish available include bigmouth bass, catfish, bluegill,
crappie, tilapia and striped bass.
For the hunter, there are dove, duck, geese, quail
and deer hunting within easy range of Martinez Lake Resort.
For the water skier and jet skier, there
are warm calm waters, uncrowded with sandbars to rest on.
For the photographer, the sunrises and
sunsets are some of the most beautiful and breathaking in Arizona.
