Course of the Colorado River Davis Dam in Pyramid Canyon above Laughlin, Nevada, where a bridge carries NV 163 (Laughlin Highway)/AZ 95 over the Colorado River. Prior to the completion of the Hoover Dam Bypass project in 2010, this bridge was the main crossing for freight traffic between Arizona and Nevada as trucks were not allowed over Hoover Dam for security reasons after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Colorado then passes by Bullhead City, Arizona and Fort Mohave, Arizona and the Fort Mojave Reservation. The Colorado forms the border of California to the west and Arizona to the east for most of its course
Colorado River basin. Phoenix in Arizona and Las Vegas in Nevada are the largest metropolitan areas in the watershed. Population densities are also high along the lower Colorado River below Davis Dam, which includes Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City, and Yuma. Other significant population centers in the basin include Tucson, Arizona; St. George, Utah; and Grand Junction, Colorado. Colorado River basin states are among the fastest-growing in the U.S.; the population of Nevada alone increased by about 66 percent between 1990 and 2000 as Arizona grew by some 40 percent. The Colorado River basin shares drainage boundaries with many other major watersheds