Lake Havasu, AZ |
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Parker Dam is the deepest dam in the world. The reservoir it forms, Lake Havasu, has become a major destination for water-based recreation in the Pacific Southwest. The story of Parker Dam is a mini-history of water issues in the American West. It was dams like Parker (and its more famous upstream counterpart, Hoover) that enabled settlement and development of this arid region.
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A Bureau of Reclamation water project, Parker Dam was funded in part by the Metropolitan Water District of Los Angeles and the Central Arizona Project. Both agencies, which supply water to the cities of southern California and Arizona as well as the irrigated farming operations that provide many of our nation’s fruits and vegetables, were partners in the interpretive project.
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Access to Parker Dam has had to be severely restricted due to security concerns. It was the desire of Reclamation to provide visitors with a “surrogate” experience to replace the tours of the interior of the dam that used to be available (and which were very popular with tourists). EDA designed and fabricated fifteen interpretive panels that tell the story of the dam’s construction and help visitors understand its purpose and function. |
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Other interpretive themes and topics include the battle for water rights, area geology, the Law of the River, an overview of regional history and orientation to the recreation opportunities available on Lake Havasu and adjoining BLM lands. |
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