Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Statistics are one thing, but seeing is believing. The guided tour, which begins at the
Hoover Dam visitor center, allows visitors to appreciate the combined efforts of thousands
of workers that was required to construct the 528-foot dam one sees today.
Thecrystallinewatersof110-mile-longLakeMead—thevastreservoirthatwascreated
by the dam—are a mecca for swimmers, boaters, windsurfers, divers, anglers, and sight-
seers.Aslargeasitis,though,thelakeisjustasmallpartofthe1.5-million-acrerecreation
area that surrounds the Colorado River as it flows from the show-stopping Grand Canyon
all the way south through the seared desert surrounding Lake Mojave.
Did you know…
From the Nevada side of the dam, there is a silhouette of a World War II gun
emplacement standing on the Arizona side of Lake Mead. A major source of
power for the defense industry, Hoover Dam was considered a primary military
target.
2.
Valley of Fire State Park
Like a fanciful mirage, the many peaks, spires, and pillars in Nevada's largest state park
shimmer injewel-toned hues.Windandwateroverthecourseofmillions ofyearssculpted
the landscape here into a masterpiece of haunting beauty. Interpretive trails lead visitors
past raspy red rocks where desert tortoises linger in cool recesses and beside smooth cliff
faces where, a thousand years ago, Anasazi artists etched mysterious petroglyphs.
NorthtowardOverton,theLostCityMuseumholdsyetmoreremnantsofthelong-van-
ished Anasazi civilization that flourished in the region until a.d. 1200.
3.
Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge
The desert stretches long and lonely as Rte. 93 runs north between the gaunt hills of the
Sheep Range to the west and the sun-baked Delamar Mountains to the east. But under-
ground water, in true oasis fashion, feeds Lower Pahranagat Lake and, 4 1/2 miles beyond,
Upper Pahranagat Lake. Lush meadowlands and stands of cottonwoods crowd the narrow
valley,whichservesasastopformigratingwaterfowlandanestingareaforgreatblueher-
ons, swans, and dozens of smaller species.
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