#209 Apr 2019 Water in the desert

From Valley of Fire we returned to Las Vegas along part of Lake Mead.

Lake Mead was created behind Hoover Dam and is a recreational oasis in the desert. 

Wilderness camping/RVing is popular near the lakeshore.

The blue lake is startling amid the desert colours.

There were also desert blooms to brighten the landscape.

We were thrilled to spot wild horses as they meandered alongside the highway.

 

We wondered if they might cause an accident as they calmly approached a blind corner of the highway.

The horses appeared to head into the hills with a destination in mind.

We continued to see outcrops of red rock brightening the scenery.

As evening approached the hills appeared almost otherworldly.

Hoover Dam is an engineering marvel that attracts visitors from around the world.

The dam was built on the Colorado River between 1931 and 1936 and serves Arizona, Nevada and California. It is a major supplier of hydroelectric power and provides flood control, river regulation and improved navigation. 

We took the complete tour that led us 700 feet into the depths of the dam. 

The tour uses a freight elevator but there are miles of tunnels and thousands of stairs.

One by one tour participants entered a tunnel and viewed the river and bridge from inside the dam. Awesome!

One of the tunnel openings can be seen in the upper right corner of this photo.

Behind the dam Lake Mead shoreline shows the water level. 

The highest white line was reached when the lake was first filled. The gray line is the highest water since then and is the optimum level of the lake.

The water intake into the dam is below the level where fish live. This one could be seen cruising just below the top of the dam.

Past the dam the water continues back to the Colorado River.

Before 2010 all highway traffic drove over the top of the dam.

Now this new bridge takes vehicles over the river at highway speed with no distracting view of the dam.