Lake Mead Elevation

Data telling a story.

Notable from the data:

• The 2021–2022 crash: The lake fell nearly 58 feet in about 28 months, bottoming out at 1,040.92 ft in July 2022. This was the lowest level since Lake Mead filled in the 1930s, driven by prolonged drought and high water demand across the Colorado River basin (source).
• The 2023 recovery: a strong rebound of 23 ft through 2023, thanks to near-record snowpack in the Rockies that year (source).
• The renewed decline since mid-2024: after peaking around 1,076 ft in early 2024, levels have been sliding again, and the most recent data point (April 2026) sits at 1,056.32 ft — well below the 2023 recovery peak and showing a familiar seasonal/structural downward trend.
• Seasonality: levels tend to rise in winter/spring (snowmelt inflows) and drop through summer/fall (high evaporation and demand). The 2022 crash is notable for how it overwhelmed this seasonal signal entirely.

Data

• end-of-month elevation in csv format. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region. Retrieved and reformatted from https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/hourly/mead-elv.html. Date accessed: 28 May 2026.