Lake Mead is the largest man-made lake and reservoir in the United States.

The lake was named after Elwood Mead, who was commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from 1924 to 1936 during the planning and construction of the Boulder Canyon Project that created the dam and lake. Lake Mead was established as the Boulder Dam Recreation Area in 1936, administrated by the National Park Service. It was then changed to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in 1964, this time including Lake Mohave and the Shivwits Plateau under its jurisdiction. Both lakes and the surrounding area offer year-round recreation options. The accumulated water from Hoover Dam forced the evacuation of several communities, most notably St. Thomas, Nevada, whose last resident left the town in 1938. The ruins of St. Thomas are sometimes visible when the water level in Lake Mead drops below normal.

The 1983 high-water mark or "bathtub ring" is visible in photos that show the shoreline of Lake Mead. The bathtub ring is white because of the deposition of minerals on previously submerged surfaces.

The lake is divided into several bodies. The large body closest to the Hoover Dam is Boulder Basin. The narrow channel, which was once known as Boulder Canyon and the original planned site for the dam is now known as The Narrows, connects Boulder Basin to Virgin Basin to the east. The Virgin River and Muddy River empty into Overton Arm, which is connected to the northern part of the Virgin Basin. The next basin to the east is Temple Basin, and following that is Gregg Basin.

Jagged mountain ranges surround the lake, offering somewhat of a startling but beautiful backdrop, especially at sunset. There are two mountain ranges within view of the Boulder Basin, the River Mountains, oriented North-west to South-east and the Muddy Mountains, oriented West to North-east.

Most expect to see lush vegetation to be growing on the shores of the lake but since Lake Mead is a reservoir the water level does not usually stay constant long enough to sustain trees or bushes. Aside from that the flora that is native to here is adapted to having less water and would most likely die off with the abundance of water.

Not far out of Vegas, we came across Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  This lake was created when Hoover Dam was finished in the 30's, and the water backed up behind it.  The dark blue water was in stark contrast to the drab colors of the desert. The water levels here are very low, due to drought conditions, much lower than the last time I was here.  We hung around and took a few pictures, but didn't stay that long...The crew was anxious to go see Hoover Dam!