Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area located in southeastern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. Operated by the National Park Service, Lake Mead NRA follows the Colorado River corridor from the westernmost boundary of Grand Canyon National Park to just north of the cities of Laughlin, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona. It includes all of the eponymous Lake Mead as well as the smaller Lake Mohave – reservoirs on the river created by Hoover Dam and Davis Dam, respectively – and the surrounding desert terrain and wilderness.
Formation of Lake Mead began in 1935, less than a year before Hoover Dam was completed. The area surrounding Lake Mead was established as the Boulder Dam Recreation Area in 1936 and the name was changed to Lake Mead National Recreation Area in 1947. In 1964, the area was expanded to include Lake Mohave and its surrounding area and became the first National Recreation Area to be designated as such by the U.S. Congress.
Amenities
Lake Mead NRA features water recreation, including boating, swimming, and fishing, on both lakes as well as the stretches of river between the lakes. It also features hiking trails and views of the surrounding desert landscape. Three of the four desert ecosystems found in the United States — the Mojave Desert, the Great Basin Desert, and the Sonoran Desert — meet in Lake Mead NRA. Tours of Hoover Dam – administered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation – are also a major attraction within the recreation area.About of the recreation area are managed separately under the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, established in 2000. Water covers about of the recreation area.
The ghost town of St. Thomas, Nevada is contained entirely within Lake Mead NRA. The town, once entirely submerged beneath Lake Mead, features a two-mile-long loop trail with interpretative signage. It is accessed near the Northshore Entrance Station, just south of Overton.
Wilderness areas
There are currently nine officially designated wilderness areas under the National Wilderness Preservation System lying within Lake Mead National Recreation Area. All are in the Nevada portion. Parts of some of these wildernesses lie outside Lake Mead NRA and are managed by the Bureau of Land Management:- Black Canyon Wilderness
- Bridge Canyon Wilderness
- Eldorado Wilderness
- Ireteba Peaks Wilderness
- Jimbilnan Wilderness
- Muddy Mountains Wilderness
- Nellis Wash Wilderness
- Pinto Valley Wilderness
- Spirit Mountain Wilderness
Park resources
- 900 plant species
- 500 animal species
- 24 rare and threatened species
- * The relict leopard frog is now believed to survive only in this area.
- 9 designated wilderness areas
- 122,166 museum objects and archives
- 1,347 recorded archeological sites
- 23 historic structures
- 8 listed National Register Properties
- 2 Traditional Cultural Properties
Fish species
- Largemouth Bass
- Striped Bass
- Crappie
- Rainbow Trout
- Catfish
- Bluegill
Visitation
| Calendar Year | Annual Visits Total | Cumulative Visits | ||
| 1936 | ||||
| 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% |
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