Facts about Lake Mead

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Saturday, April 27, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Information about the Lake Mead National Recreation Area:

* BEGINNINGS: The lake and surrounding lands, originally designated as the Boulder Dam National Recreation Area, became the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Aug. 11, 1947. The site was recognized as the first national recreation area by an act of Congress on Oct. 8, 1964.

* LAND SIZE: 2,337 square miles.

* WATER SIZE: Two lakes total: 290.7 square miles (Lake Mead: 246.7 square miles, Lake Mohave 44 square miles). More than 40 desert springs and 400 coves on both lakes.

* SHORE LENGTH: Lake Mead: 550 miles, Lake Mohave: 150 miles.

* ELEVATIONS: Ranges from 517 feet at Davis Dam to 6,990 feet in ponderosa pine forests of Shivwits Plateau (Arizona).