Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, 24 mi east from Las Vegas Strip. It is the largest reservoir in the United States in terms of water capacity. Formed by the Hoover Dam on September 30, 1935, the reservoir serves water to the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada, as well as some of Mexico, providing sustenance to nearly 20 million people and large areas of farmland.
At maximum capacity, Lake Mead is 112 miles long, 532 feet at its greatest depth, has a surface elevation of 1,221.4 feet above sea level and 247 square miles of surface area, and contains 26.12 million acre-feet of water.
The lake has remained below full capacity since 1983 due to drought and increased water demand. As of 30 June 2021, Lake Mead held 35.17% of full capacity at 9.102 million acre-feet, dropping below the reservoir's previous all-time low of 9.328 million acre-feet recorded in July 2016. In a draft 2022 Colorado River annual operating plan released by the U.S.