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Lake Mead National Recreation Area►

The Hoover Dam, along with the Davis Dam formed Lakes Mead and Mojave in 1936. Lake Mead National Recreation Area includes both of these reservoirs on the Colorado River. The US Bureau of Reclamation operates the Hoover Dam tours while the National Park Service manages the recreation area.

We stopped at the Dam overlook while on a bus tour to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. We’d already toured the Glen Canyon Dam a few years earlier, so it was enough for us to snap a few photos, stretch our legs and move on the next stop.

For years, Highway 93 crossed the Black Canyon on top of the Hoover Dam. Authorities deemed this unsafe after 9-11. The Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge over the Black Canyon opened in 2010.

Lake Mead water levels are low from years of drought. The water used to be just under the walkways that lead to the towers. At the time of this writing, experts predict the lake will fall below 1075 feet in June 2021. This is the negotiated trigger to declare water storages in the seven states that depend on the reservoir.

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Location: 1305 Arizona St, Boulder City, NV‎
Designation: National Recreation Area
Date designated/established: October 13, 1936
Date of my visit: April 8, 2017