High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Lake Mead National Recreation Area is located in southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona. The centerpieces of the National Recreation Area are its two large reservoirs: Lake Mead and Lake Mohave. These lakes cater to boaters, swimmers, sunbathers, and fishermen while the surrounding desert rewards hikers, wildlife photographers, and roadside sightseers. Three of America`s four desert ecosystems — the Mojave desert, the Great Basin desert, and the Sonoran Desert — meet in Lake Mead NRA. As a result, this seemingly barren area contains a surprising variety of plants and animals, some of which may be found nowhere else in the world.