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UNLV University Libraries Collection of Lake Mead Government Documents (MS-00947)

Abstract

The UNLV University Libraries Collection of Lake Mead Government Documents contains reports and studies pertaining to Lake Mead’s water quality, microbe ecology, wildlife, fish, plant life, pollution, soil, and sediment dating between 1971 and 1994. Reports include studies on microbe population growth, water composition, chemical treatment, salinity, temperature monitoring, and hand-written field notes on water and soil conditions. Lake Mead is located in Clark County, Nevada and Mohave County, Arizona.

Finding Aid PDF

Date

1971-1994

Extent

0.69 Cubic Feet (2 boxes)
0.63 Linear Feet

Related People/Corporations

Scope and Contents Note

The UNLV University Libraries Collection of Lake Mead Government Documents contains reports and studies pertaining to Lake Mead’s water quality, microbe ecology, wildlife, fish, plant life, pollution, soil, and sediment dating between 1971 and 1994. Reports include studies on microbe population growth, water composition, chemical treatment, salinity, temperature monitoring, and hand-written field notes on water and soil conditions. Lake Mead is located in Clark County, Nevada and Mohave County, Arizona.

Access Note

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.

Arrangement

Materials are arranged chronologically.

Biographical / Historical Note

Lake Mead, located in Clark County, Nevada and Mohave County, Arizona on the Colorado River, is the sixteenth largest man-made lake in the world. Its surface area is 164,000 acres with a storage volume of 26,134,000 acre-feet.

The National Park Service originally named Lake Mead the "Boulder Dam Recreation Area" in 1936 preceding Hoover Dam's (Boulder Dam) construction, existing as the United State's largest reservoir at the time. In 1947, the National Park Service then renamed the reservoir Lake Mead after Dr. Elwood Mead, who was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation from 1924 to 1936. In 1964, Public Law 88-639 established Lake Mead National Recreation Area under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.

Over time, Lake Mead's water level fluctuated from its highest point in July 1983 at 1,225 feet, down to its current height at 1,083 feet in 2019. However, Lake Mead still exists as one of the largest reservoirs in the United States with depths surpassing 300 feet. Lake Mead National Recreation Area is also the sixth most visited park in the National Park System and the premier inland water recreation area in the Western United States.

Sources:

"Lake Mead." Vegas.com. 2019. Accessed July 18, 2019. https://www.vegas.com/attractions/near-las-vegas/lake-mead/

"Historic Timeline." National Park Service. February 18, 2016. Accessed July 18, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/lake/learn/news/timeline.htm

"Lake Mead Water Level." Lakes Online. July 18, 2019. Accessed July 18, 2019. http://mead.uslakes.info/level.asp

"Lake Mead Statistics." Lakes Online. July 18, 2019. Accessed July 18, 2019. http://www.mead.uslakes.info/Statistics.asp

Preferred Citation

UNLV University Libraries Collection of Lake Mead Government Documents, 1971-1994. MS-00947. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Acquisition Note

Materials were periodically collected by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Special Collections and Archives; accession number 2001-32.

Processing Note

In 2019, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Jimmy Chang rehoused and arranged the materials, wrote the finding aid, and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.

Resource Type

Papers

Collection Type

EAD ID

US::NVLN::MS00947

Appraisal Note

Some of the documents that were collected about Lake Mead are now freely available through government websites. Print copies of government documents that are publicly available online have been removed from the collection. See the following websites for access to additional documents: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov; https://nepis.epa.gov; https://www.usbr.gov; https://home.nps.gov.

Finding Aid Description Rules

Describing Archives: A Content Standard
English