Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States by water capacity, formed on the Colorado River by the Hoover Dam and straddling the Nevada-Arizona border about 24 miles east of Las Vegas. It first filled on September 30, 1935, and at maximum capacity holds about 32.2 cubic kilometers of water across a surface area of 247 square miles, reaching a maximum depth of 532 feet. The reservoir supplies water to nearly 20 million people across Arizona, California, Nevada and parts of Mexico as well as extensive agriculture, but it has remained below full capacity since 1983 because of drought and rising demand, reaching a historic low elevation of 1,038.94 feet in August 2026.
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SymbolAn irregular flooded reservoir basin held back by a straight dam wall. 1 Area (sq km) Sources
1. Wikipedia, Lake Mead
Wikimedia Foundationlead section
a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States
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At maximum capacity, Lake Mead is 112 miles (180 km) long, 532 feet (162 m) at its greatest depth, has a surface elevation of 1,229 feet (375 m) above sea level, has a surface area of 247 square miles (640 km2), and contains 28.23 million acre-feet (34.82 km3) of water.
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