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
Black Canyon Diversion Dam Black Canyon Diversion Dam Black Canyon Diversion Dam (National ID # ID00282) is a dam in Gem County, Idaho. The concrete dam was originally completed in 1924, then re-constructed between 1951 and 1955, by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Its structure has a height of 183 feet, and a length of 1902 feet at its crest. It impounds the Payette River for the diversion of water into the Black Canyon and North Side Main irrigation canals, and the generation of about 2 megawatts of hydroelectric power, part of the Bureau's larger Boise Project. The dam is owned and operated