Lake Mead
Lake Mead National Recreation Area covers about 1.5 million acres in southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. It includes Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and surrounding desert mountains, washes, and canyons. Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead, while Davis Dam forms Lake Mohave downstream.
The lakes provide opportunities for boating, fishing, and swimming. Beyond the shorelines, visitors explore desert trails, photograph wildlife, and examine the region's exposed geology.
Nature
Desert and water meet throughout Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Rocky mountains rise above broad basins, washes cut through volcanic and sedimentary formations, and steep canyons expose layers of the region's geologic history.The recreation area lies along the northeastern edge of the Mojave Desert and supports plants and animals associated with the Mojave, Great Basin, and Sonoran desert ecosystems. Differences in elevation, terrain, and available water create a variety of habitats.
Desert bighorn sheep travel rocky slopes, while desert tortoises occupy suitable desert habitat. Springs, wetlands, and the Colorado River corridor support plants and wildlife that depend on more reliable water.
The landscape offers opportunities for hiking, wildlife photography, and roadside sightseeing. Summer heat can limit desert travel, making cooler months better suited to many activities away from the water.
History & Culture
People lived in the Colorado River region thousands of years before the construction of Hoover and Davis dams. Early inhabitants hunted game and gathered wild plants. Later communities practiced farming along rivers and tributary valleys, growing crops such as corn, beans, and squash.Archaeological sites preserve evidence of different ways of life, including rock shelters, pit houses, masonry dwellings, pottery, stone tools, and grinding implements. Gypsum Cave near present-day Lake Mead also contains remains of extinct animals, including ground sloths, horses, and camels. These fossil remains represent a separate part of the region's history and should not be treated as proof that people hunted those animals.
Southern Paiute, Mojave, Hualapai, and other Native peoples have longstanding connections to the region. Their histories and continuing cultural ties extend beyond the boundaries of the recreation area.
Explorers and Settlers
Jedediah Smith traveled through the Virgin and Colorado river region during his journeys of 1826 and 1827. His expeditions relied on routes and knowledge that Native peoples had developed over generations.In 1857-1858, Lieutenant Joseph Christmas Ives led an expedition to investigate navigation on the lower Colorado River. His party traveled upstream aboard the steamboat Explorer and continued its investigations by smaller boat and overland.
In 1869, John Wesley Powell led a boat expedition down the Green and Colorado rivers through the Grand Canyon. The surviving members of his party ended their journey at the mouth of the Virgin River, in an area later flooded by Lake Mead.
During the nineteenth century, Mormon settlers established farming communities along the Muddy and Virgin rivers. Prospectors developed mining districts, while steamboats carried passengers, equipment, and supplies along the Colorado. These developments brought increasing settlement and conflict over land and water.
Hoover Dam and Lake Mead
Growing demands for flood control, irrigation water, and electricity led to plans for a major dam on the Colorado River. The Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 authorized the project, and construction began in 1931.Lake Mead began filling in 1935 behind Hoover Dam. The reservoir was named for Elwood Mead, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. Rising water flooded canyons, roads, archaeological sites, and the town of St. Thomas.
The new reservoir also drew visitors for boating, fishing, and sightseeing. Federal recreation management began before Congress formally established Lake Mead National Recreation Area on October 8, 1964. Recognized as America's first national recreation area, it includes both Lake Mead and Lake Mohave.
Map of Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Temple Bar
Bonelli Landing
Callville Bay
Echo Bay
Overton Beach
St. Thomas
Hoover Dam
Lake Mohave