Nevada receives less rain than any other state, and is the driest.
Rainfall in the southeastern part of the state averages only about 4 inches (10 cm) a year.
But Nevada has plenty of water in Lake Mead, which stretches for about 115 miles (185 km), one of the largest artificially created lakes in the world.
Lake Mead was formed when the Hoover Dam was built on the Colorado River at the Nevada-Arizona border, east of Las Vegas, in the 1930s.
It is the highest concrete arch dam in the nation, rising 726 feet (221 m).
A power plant at the dam generates electricity for Arizona, California, and Nevada.
Nevada’s scarce waters are home to several species of rare fish.
They include the cui-ui, found only in Pyramid Lake, and the Devils Hole pupfish, found only in Devils Hole.
