Lake Mead above the Hoover Dam i.e. Colorado River, at the Utah Arizona border

After experiencing swimming in 106 degree heat at the North Shore Inn we headed to Lake Mead recreation area and Hoover Dam.  It is off season, but a few boats are still getting on to the lake that is amazingly low.  The light and dark divide on the rock is the former water level.  Drew said this picture should be on the TV news every night.  The Hoover Dam tour with its 1930s film of the construction of the dam has NO mention by tour guides or the film itself of the decreased water level.

This is an old marina at the bottom of the valley with floating docks.  It's completely landlocked now.

 This is where the boat launch is.  They have paved the road to the water fairly recently.

This sign maybe needs to be in a few places in New York not here.  Thought city dwellers might get a kick out of a "congested area" in Nevada. Lake Mead, part of the Colorado River, is the border for Arizona and Nevada.

We kept driving south to the Hoover Dam.

A "bit" of electrical wiring coming out of here.  

Also a "big" security presence:  this sign and a metal detector to walk through.

  

This is the 5 year old bridge over the Colorado River to bypass the road over the dam.  the dam road used to be the only road connecting the Arizona and Nevada sides.

The intake pipe.

The water level used to be at the top of the grid on this tower.  No mention of this intake tower's height in any of the talks or the critical lower water level.  There is one tower on each side of the Lake. 

Huge turbines inside creating the electricity.