Diving in the Las Vegas area (Lake Mead, Lake Mojave, Colorado River) is quite diverse. Although there is little to see in the way of marine life, there is quite an diverse number of diving conditions to be enjoyed.
I dive primaraly in Lake Mead which is a man - made lake created with the construction of Hoover Dam. Diving is accessable from the shore or boat. There are a few areas which have sandy beaches, however the majority of the lake bottom and beaches are composed of rock dust a.k.a "silt". There is a good number of technical divers who dive the lake also. The lake has some submerged caves an depths of over 500 ffw is some places. If you are not familar with a dive location it is necessary to refer to a topograpgical map of the lake, as you can literaly be 60 feet from the shore and in over 300 feet of water. Altitude of Lake Mead is 2,550 feet above sea level.
Diving in the Colorado River is much like drift diving, The currents vary in stregnth and cannot be swam against. This makes for a enjoyable "hop in and enjoy the ride" dive and during the warmer months many people ride the river in inner tubes in the same manner.
Again marine life is limited, few trout, many striped bass and carp, a mix of other fresh water fish - large and small mouth bass, pearch, bluegill, sunfish, crappie. There are fresh water clams in some areas and during the summer, crayfish are verry abundant, an make a good post dive snack.
VegasDiver
