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
Risks to the Glen Canyon Dam Dam forming Lake Havasu, Palo Verde Dam, and other dams and reservoirs. Because Glen Canyon Dam is also the central element of the Colorado River Storage Project, a failure may, depending on the volumes of water released and the damage caused, limit or completely cut off water supply to residences or farmlands along the Colorado River, and even into southern California depending on damage to canal headworks. The failure of Glen Canyon Dam would also destroy up to 964 known archaeological sites, including 264 that it currently affects in the Grand Canyon. Risks to the Glen Canyon Dam Glen Canyon