Course of the Colorado River Lake Mead, formed by the -high Hoover Dam about southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, is the largest reservoir in the United States with a full capacity of and a water surface of nearly . However, the lake has not been full for many years due to a combination of drought and increased water usage by Colorado River Basin states. Situated in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Lake Mead is a popular recreation site – visited by almost 8 million people a year – and a critical source of water for the Las Vegas metropolitan area, Central Arizona and Southern
Steamboats of the Colorado River Quartette Landing and Eldorado Canyon in Nevada, the landings and the mills there were abandoned. The town of Nelson was founded near the head of the canyon nearest the road to the railroad, the post office of Eldorado was closed in August 31, 1907 and moved to Nelson. In 1906, Santa Fé railroad built the Barnwell and Searchlight Railway to the west to tie Searchlight to its subsidiary California Eastern Railway at Barnwell, California. Also in 1905, the Arizona and California Railroad bridged the Colorado River at Parker, Arizona, cutting in half the last profitable section of the river for