Lake Mead National Recreation Area - Environmental Factors

More than 87% of the park protects a vast area of the eastern Mojave Desert. November through March, temperatures are cooler. During the summer months temperatures can reach 120 degrees F in the shade. Annual precipitation in this desert recreation area is just 4 to 6 inches. The nearly continual sunshine invites a wide variety of visitor uses.

Hiking in the desert can be an enjoyable experience. It can also be a hazardous adventure if you travel unprepared. Never hike alone, and tell someone where you are going and when you plan to return. Free backcountry road maps and hiking information handouts for recommended hikes may be obtained at the Alan Bible Visitor Center located at the junction of US Hwy 93 and Lakeshore Scenic Drive, and at Ranger Stations.

Although most visitors are attracted to Lake Mead NRA because of Lakes Mead and Mohave, it is wise to remember that these are not natural lakes but rather reservoirs created by Hoover and Parker Dams. About 96 percent of the water in Lake Mead is from melted snow that fell in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Occasionally a bloom of Green Algae growth appears at some shoreline areas in Lake Mead. It takes several factors for algae to bloom such as abnormal weather conditions, (cold, then warm, then mild alternating over a several day period).