Question 1

How big is Lake Havasu?

Accepted Answer

Lake Havasu is a reservoir on the Colorado River at the Arizona-California border, formed by Parker Dam and stretching about 45 miles from the dam north to Topock Gorge. Reclamation's December 2022 resurvey puts capacity at full pool at about 590,000 acre-feet over roughly 19,800 acres, about 31 square miles, some 29,000 acre-feet less than the older 1957 survey because of settled sediment.

Question 2

Is Parker Dam really the deepest dam in the world?

Accepted Answer

It is often called the deepest dam in the world because about 73 percent of its 320-foot structural height sits below the original riverbed. Built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation between 1934 and 1938, it creates the storage from which water is pumped into the Colorado River and Central Arizona Project aqueducts, generates hydroelectric power, and re-regulates river flows.

Question 3

Why is Lake Havasu always full when Lake Mead is low?

Accepted Answer

As of September 9, 2026, Lake Havasu is at 447.547 ft. Unlike Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which are long-term storage reservoirs that rise and fall with drought, Lake Havasu is a regulating reservoir kept near full pool. Parker Dam smooths the flows released upstream from Hoover and Davis dams, and Reclamation holds the lake in a narrow band, roughly 440 to 450 feet, so the CAP and Metropolitan Water District pumps can run properly.

Question 4

Where does Phoenix and Tucson's water come from?

Accepted Answer

Lake Havasu is the starting point of the Central Arizona Project, which carries Colorado River water to central and southern Arizona. Water is drawn near Parker Dam at the Mark Wilmer Pumping Plant, the first lift on a system that runs about 336 miles to a terminus southwest of Tucson and delivers on the order of 1.4 to 1.5 million acre-feet per year.

Question 5

Is the London Bridge really in Lake Havasu City?

Accepted Answer

Yes. City founder Robert P. McCulloch bought the 1831 London Bridge from the City of London in April 1968 for about 2.46 million dollars to draw tourists and land buyers. Its granite facing stones were numbered, shipped through the Panama Canal, trucked to Arizona, and reassembled, and the rebuilt bridge was rededicated on October 10, 1971.

Question 6

Can you swim in Lake Havasu?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Lake Havasu is one of the Southwest's best-known water-recreation destinations, drawing boaters, anglers, swimmers, and campers to its warm water and sandy beaches. Lake Havasu State Park, just north of London Bridge, offers swimming beaches, campsites, and cabins, and the lake is also famous as a spring-break hotspot, with boaters gathering at coves such as Copper Canyon.

Question 7

What fish are in Lake Havasu?

Accepted Answer

The lake is regarded as one of the West's premier bass fisheries, with largemouth, smallmouth, and striped bass plus channel and flathead catfish. It is known worldwide for giant redear sunfish, producing multiple world records including a 6.30-pound fish caught in 2021, a boom biologists attribute to the food supply created by invasive quagga mussels.

Question 8

Do I need to clean my boat for quagga mussels?

Accepted Answer

Invasive quagga mussels were discovered in Lake Havasu and neighboring Colorado River lakes in 2007 and are now established throughout the lower river system. They clog water intakes and pumping equipment, filter huge volumes of plankton, and are nearly impossible to eradicate once established, so Reclamation urges boaters to clean, drain, and dry their vessels and gear between waterbodies.

Question 9

How hot does it get at Lake Havasu?

Accepted Answer

Lake Havasu City has a hot, very dry subtropical desert climate that keeps the water warm year-round. July is the hottest month with average highs around 109 degrees Fahrenheit, December is coolest with average highs near 66, and rainfall is minimal in every month with clear or mostly clear skies much of the time.

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