Scuba Diving Lake Mead, Nevada

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States.

Shutterstock/vic-Toria Ditkovsky

"We have formed a desert dive family.”

Kristin Janise, a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Instructor, was born and raised in Las Vegas. “I left after college to pursue a degree in marine science and became certified in diving in 2007, moving back in 2013 to start diving Lake Mead,” she says.

“Our dive community is pretty small considering we’re in a desert environment. Overall, Lake Mead is a fantastic training location, and we do have a solid group of divers who like to dive for fun.”

A diver hovers just above a propeller attached to the lake’s popular B-29 wreck

A diver hovers just above a propeller attached to the lake’s popular B-29 wreck.

Courtesy Rich Synowiec

In 1936, construction of the Hoover Dam was completed along the Colorado River, resulting in the formation of the largest reservoir in the United States. Far exceeding 300 feet in depth, Lake Mead has experienced significant fluctuations in water levels over the years; these have impacted access to dive sites like the remote B-29 Super-fortress aircraft wreck site, one of the lake’s more popular attractions. The lake spans nearly 250 square miles between Nevada and Arizona and is the National Parks Service’s fifth most visited site.

This is something Joel Silverstein, COO of Tech Diving Limited, plans for when organizing a trip to Lake Mead. Silverstein has been diving there since moving to the area in 2002, and he finds himself diving the lake up to 20 times per year.

“The visibility of Lake Mead is spectacular. It’s a pretty unique location,” Silverstein says. “The thing about Lake Mead to take into consideration is, in the summertime, that park is filled. If you’re bringing your own boat, you need to get there early to launch it.”

It’s also important for divers to be aware of the lake’s size and conditions. “It’s always weather-dependent because it’s windy, and the wind is the one thing that interferes with diving the most. It’s almost like you’re in the Great Lakes in a storm.”

Silverstein was one of the official guides who was taking divers to the B-29 wreck in the Overton Arm from 2007 to 2022.

Getting ready to dip below the surface to explore

Getting ready to dip below the surface to explore.

Courtesy Rich Synowiec

“The B-29 was an important plane at the time. There’s history to it, and wreck divers like history,” he explains. “It’s challenging to dive it: In 2007, we were in 185 or 190 feet of water, so you could only take technical divers, but it’s a spectacular site.”

Over the years, the water levels have dropped so much in the lake that the wreck went from sitting in 260 feet of water when it was discovered in 2001 to just 65 feet in 2021—prompting the National Parks Service to stop issuing Commercial Use Authorization permits for the site.

Divers must be constantly aware of the lake’s changing water levels as they prepare to dive anywhere in the lake.

“Even from 2013 to now, we have seen the water levels change drastically and have had to move platforms and dive obstacles throughout the years. I’d definitely recommend contacting a local agency for a guided dive if you’re not local, just because some of the shore spots can be tricky to navigate on land,” Janise says.

The wreck of the 1948 plane is the exception to the rest of the diving in Lake Mead, which is mostly concentrated in the lower basin.

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While divers wait for the NPS to release more permits to dive the B-29, there are plenty of other Lake Mead sites to check out. Janise says local divers frequent shore dive sites like Placer Cove, Kingman Wash and Willow Beach.

Divers can access offshore sites like Wreck Alley and Purgatory (which is on the Arizona side of the lake) via charters or watercraft rentals. The list goes on.

The underwater wall at Kraken Cove drops down to 350 feet. Two halves of a 1949 U.S. Navy PBY Catalina amphibious plane wreck sit in the middle of the basin. Construction debris and train tunnels from the building of the dam make for a transporting time-travel exploration of the lake bottom.

After years of development and climate change, the lake’s ecosystems are delicate. In addition to being aware of water levels, divers can do their part to maintain the integrity of Lake Mead’s flora and fauna and limit the spread of aquatic invasive species by properly cleaning equipment after each dive.

National Park Service

Site Spotlight: Razorback Suckers

Razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus) are found throughout the Colorado River system, spread across the southwestern United States and Mexico.

There are nearly 80 species within the Catostomidae (suckerfish) family, and this species is most easily recognized by its protruding hump and gold coloring. Razorbacks can grow up to 3 feet in length and have an impressive life span of up to 40 years.

As a result of habitat loss from activities like dam building, they have been considered endangered since 1991. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed reclassification to “threatened” status in 2021 after conservation efforts showed encouraging results.

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