Beaver Lake (Nevada) facts for kids
Beaver Lake was once a lake located on the west side of the Colorado River in what is now Clark County, Nevada. This lake stretched from north to south, mostly within the Camp Mohave Military Reservation. Its southern end was about 1.5 miles west of Fort Mohave, and its northern end was about 2 miles northwest of the camp. The old Mojave Road passed by the northern tip of the lake. Since 1892, Beaver Lake has dried up and turned back into desert or has been used for farming. Today, you can see it as a low area, or depression, running north and south, west of the river, at an elevation of 490 feet or less.
History of Beaver Lake
Beaver Lake was actually a long slough, which is like a slow-moving channel, or an old path of the Colorado River. It became separated from the main river sometime before 1858.
Early Events at Beaver Lake
In 1858, Beaver Lake was the site of the first battle in the Mohave War. During this time, Lieutenant Colonel William Hoffman and 50 soldiers from the 6th Cavalry were on an expedition. Their camp was surrounded and attacked by Chief Cairook and about 300 Mohave men.
Changes Over Time
A map from 1875, made by Lieutenant George M. Wheeler, showed that the upper part of Beaver Lake had reconnected and become one of the Colorado River's channels again.
The lake appeared on maps with its name, Beaver Lake, as late as a 1911 reprint of a U.S. Geological Survey map from 1892. However, the lake has since completely dried up. This happened after it was cut off from the river's spring floods, especially after the Hoover Dam was built. The dam changed how the river flowed, preventing water from reaching the lake.
Beaver Lake Today
If you look at the area where Beaver Lake used to be from a satellite, you can see that it is now dry. The middle part of the southern half of the old lake bed still looks like a narrow, flat, dry area called a playa. This playa is located between strips of farmland.
Above the Aha Macav Parkway, which crosses the former lake bed, it looks like land that used to be farmland but has now returned to desert plants. However, beyond Silver State Road, where the historic battle took place, the desert appears untouched since the lake dried up. The very southern end, below the farmed areas, also looks like undisturbed desert.
