Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Encyclopedia
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is located in southern Nevada
and northwestern Arizona
. The centerpieces of the National Recreation Area
are its two large reservoirs: Lake Mead
and Lake Mohave
. These lakes cater to boaters, swimmers, sunbathers, and fishermen while the surrounding desert rewards hikers, wildlife photographers, and roadside sightseers. Three of America's four desert ecosystems — the Mojave desert
, the Great Basin desert
, and the Sonoran Desert
— meet in Lake Mead NRA. As a result, this seemingly barren area contains a surprising variety of plants and animals, some of which may be found nowhere else in the world.
Originally called Boulder Dam Recreation Area, it was managed under a cooperative agreement between the National Park Service
and the Bureau of Reclamation dating from October 13, 1936. The name was changed to Lake Mead National Recreation Area on August 11, 1947. On October 8, 1964, Congress passed enabling legislation (Public Law 88-639) officially creating Lake Mead National Recreation Area as a park in the national park system. The law directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer the area "...for general purposes of public recreation, benefit, and use, and in a manner that will preserve, develop, and enhance, so far as practicable, the recreation potential, and in a manner that will preserve the scenic, historic, scientific, and other important features of the area..."
About 20000 acres (8,093.7 ha) of the recreation area are managed separately under the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument
, proclaimed in 2000. Water covers about 186000 acres (75,271.6 ha) of the recreation area.
The Hoover Dam
, which was completed in 1935 creating Lake Mead, is located within Lake Mead NRA. Tours of the dam and the Hoover Dam Visitor Center are managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation
.
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and northwestern Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. The centerpieces of the National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area
National Recreation Area is a designation for a protected area in the United States, often centered on large reservoirs and emphasizing water-based recreation for a large number of people. The first National Recreation Area was the Boulder Dam Recreation Area...
are its two large reservoirs: Lake Mead
Lake Mead
Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River about southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by water impounded by the Hoover Dam, it extends behind the dam, holding approximately of water.-History:The lake was...
and Lake Mohave
Lake Mohave
Lake Mohave is a reservoir formed by Davis Dam on the Colorado River, which defines the border between Nevada and Arizona in the United States. The lake lies at an elevation of near Laughlin, Nevada, Searchlight, Nevada, Cottonwood Cove, Nevada, and Bullhead City, Arizona, about downstream from...
. These lakes cater to boaters, swimmers, sunbathers, and fishermen while the surrounding desert rewards hikers, wildlife photographers, and roadside sightseers. Three of America's four desert ecosystems — the Mojave desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, the Great Basin desert
Great Basin desert
Great Basin desert may refer to any of the named deserts all or partly in the Great Basin or to:...
, and the Sonoran Desert
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...
— meet in Lake Mead NRA. As a result, this seemingly barren area contains a surprising variety of plants and animals, some of which may be found nowhere else in the world.
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and the Bureau of Reclamation dating from October 13, 1936. The name was changed to Lake Mead National Recreation Area on August 11, 1947. On October 8, 1964, Congress passed enabling legislation (Public Law 88-639) officially creating Lake Mead National Recreation Area as a park in the national park system. The law directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer the area "...for general purposes of public recreation, benefit, and use, and in a manner that will preserve, develop, and enhance, so far as practicable, the recreation potential, and in a manner that will preserve the scenic, historic, scientific, and other important features of the area..."
About 20000 acres (8,093.7 ha) of the recreation area are managed separately under the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument is located on the northern edge of the Grand Canyon in northwest Arizona. It was established by Presidential Proclamation 7265 on January 11, 2000...
, proclaimed in 2000. Water covers about 186000 acres (75,271.6 ha) of the recreation area.
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
, which was completed in 1935 creating Lake Mead, is located within Lake Mead NRA. Tours of the dam and the Hoover Dam Visitor Center are managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The United States Bureau of Reclamation , and formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is an agency under the U.S...
.
Park resources
- 900 plant species
- 500 animal species
- 25 threatened or endangered species
- Nine designated wilderness areas (185000 acres (74,866.9 ha))
- 1.8 million years of geological occurrences
- 10,000 years of human presence
- Nevada’s first Traditional Cultural Property
Fish species
- Largemouth BassLargemouth bassThe largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
- Striped BassStriped bassThe striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...
- CrappieCrappieCrappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...
- SunfishCentrarchidaeThe sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies...
- Catfish (Channel)Channel catfishChannel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...
- CarpCarpCarp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
Visitation
For 2009, Lake Mead National Recreation Area was the 5th most visited national park.| Calendar Year | Annual Visits Total | Cumulative Visits | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | 552,128 | 552,128 | ||
| 1938 | 533,914 | 1,086,042 | -18,214 | -3.30% |
| 1939 | 649,624 | 1,735,666 | +115,710 | +21.67% |
| 1940 | 668,027 | 2,403,693 | +18,403 | +2.83% |
| 1941 | 844,733 | 3,248,426 | +176,706 | +26.45% |
| 1942 | 338,778 | 3,587,204 | -505,955 | -59.90% |
| 1943 | 214,190 | 3,801,394 | -124,588 | -36.78% |
| 1944 | 263,533 | 4,064,927 | +49,343 | +23.04% |
| 1945 | 587,436 | 4,652,363 | +323,903 | +122.91% |
| 1946 | 1,165,369 | 5,817,732 | +577,933 | +98.38% |
| 1947 | 1,426,831 | 7,244,563 | +261,462 | +22.44% |
| 1948 | 1,654,004 | 8,898,567 | +227,173 | +15.92% |
| 1949 | 1,423,552 | 10,322,119 | -230,452 | -13.93% |
| 1950 | 1,798,280 | 12,120,399 | +374,728 | +26.32% |
| 1951 | 2,053,619 | 14,174,018 | +255,339 | +14.20% |
| 1952 | 1,946,706 | 16,120,724 | -106,913 | -5.21% |
| 1953 | 2,220,940 | 18,341,664 | +274,234 | +14.09% |
| 1954 | 2,112,724 | 20,454,388 | -108,216 | -4.87% |
| 1955 | 2,675,371 | 23,129,759 | +562,647 | +26.60% |
| 1956 | 2,672,774 | 25,802,533 | -2,597 | -0.10% |
| 1957 | 2,955,257 | 28,757,790 | +282,483 | +10.57% |
| 1958 | 3,190,580 | 31,948,370 | +235,323 | +7.96% |
| 1959 | 3,390,574 | 35,338,944 | +199,994 | +6.27% |
| 1960 | 2,254,185 | 37,593,129 | -1,136,389 | -33.50% |
| 1961 | 2,219,960 | 39,813,089 | -34,225 | -1.50% |
| 1962 | 2,688,745 | 42,501,834 | +468,785 | +21.10% |
| 1963 | 3,349,565 | 45,851,399 | +660,820 | +24.60% |
| 1964 | 3,462,580 | 49,313,979 | +113,015 | +3.40% |
| 1965 | 3,594,065 | 52,908,044 | +131,485 | +3.80% |
| 1966 | 3,720,485 | 56,628,529 | +126,420 | +3.50% |
| 1967 | 4,102,335 | 60,730,864 | +381.85 | +10.30% |
| 1968 | 4,751,795 | 65,482,659 | +649,460 | +15.80% |
| 1969 | 5,614,940 | 71,097,599 | +863,145 | +18.20% |
| 1970 | 4,897,135 | 75,994,734 | -717,805 | -12.80% |
| 1971 | 4,570,229 | 80,564,963 | -326,906 | -6.70% |
| 1972 | 4,888,640 | 85,453,599 | +318,407 | +6.90% |
| 1973 | 5,534,315 | 90,987,914 | +645,679 | +13.20% |
| 1974 | 5,939,533 | 96,927,447 | +405,218 | +7.32% |
| 1975 | 6,219,220 | 103,146,667 | +279,687 | +4.70% |
| 1976 | 6,948,611 | 110,095,278 | +729,391 | +11.72% |
| 1977 | 6,529,848 | 116,625,126 | -418,763 | -6.00% |
| 1978 | 6,879,870 | 123,504,996 | +350.022 | +5.30% |
| 1979 | 6,378,341 | 129,883,337 | -501,529 | -7.30% |
| 1980 | 5,145,699 | 135,029,036 | -1,232,642 | -19.30% |
| 1981 | 5,406,184 | 140,435,220 | +260,485 | +0.05% |
| 1982 | 5,565,467 | 146,000,687 | +159,283 | +3.00% |
| 1983 | 6,128,254 | 152,128,941 | +562,787 | +10.10% |
| 1984 | 6,504,206 | 158,633,147 | +375,952 | +6.10% |
| 1985 | 7,204,295 | 165,837,442 | +700,089 | +10.70% |
| 1986 | 8,034,542 | 173,871,984 | +830,247 | +11.50% |
| 1987 | 8,392,419 | 182,264,403 | +357,877 | +4.50% |
| 1988 | 8,629,895 | 190,894,298 | +237,476 | +2.83% |
| 1989 | 8,803,414 | 199,697,712 | +173,519 | +2.00% |
| 1990 | 8,893,495 | 208,591,207 | +90.081 | +1.02% |
| 1991 | 8,751,312 | 217,342,519 | -142,183 | -1.59% |
| 1992 | 9,343,549 | 226,686,068 | +592,237 | +6.80% |
| 1993 | 9,265,520 | 235,951,588 | -78,029 | -0.84% |
| 1994 | 9,913,705 | 245,865,293 | +648,185 | +7.00% |
| 1995 | 10,195,546 | 256,060,839 | +281,841 | +2.85% |
| 1996 | 9,689,997 | 265,750,836 | -505,549 | -4.96% |
| 1997 | 8,837,742 | 274,588,578 | -852,255 | -8.80% |
| 1998 | 9,106,793 | 283,695,371 | +269,051 | +3.00% |
| 1999 | 9,351,237 | 293,046,608 | +244,444 | +2.68% |
| 2000 | 9,072,545 | 302,119,153 | -278,692 | -3.00% |
| 2001 | 8,772,589 | 310,891,742 | -299,956 | -3.31% |
| 2002 | 7,824,128 | 318,715,870 | -948,461 | -10.81% |
| 2003 | 8,202,677 | 326,918,545 | +378,547 | +4.84% |
| 2004 | 8,103,609 | 335,022,154 | -99,066 | -1.21% |
| 2005 | 7,971,437 | 342,993,591 | -132,172 | -1.63% |
| 2006 | 8,059,850 | 351,053,441 | +88,413 | +1.11% |
| 2007 | 7,898,592 | 358,952,033 | -161,258 | -2.00% |
| 2008 | 7,877,581 | 366,829,614 | -21,011 | -0.27% |
| 2009 | 7,946,830 | 374,776,444 | +69,249 | +0.88% |