The world's deepest dam lies about 17 miles upriver from its namesake, the town of Parker. The dam forms the reservoir of Lake Havasu, which is 45 miles long. During construction, workers had to dig down 235 feet through the sand and gravel of the riverbed before hitting the bedrock needed to secure the foundation. Today, only the top third of the dam is visible. Lake Havasu, the reservoir behind the dam, has a storage capacity of 211 billion gallons.
View the world’s deepest dam from a scenic point on either the Arizona or California side of the beautiful Colorado River. You can park at both ends of the dam. However, security concerns after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have forced the closure of the power plant’s self-guided tour. There's a boat launch at Take-off Point near the dam on the Arizona side.
Water is pumped from the reservoir into the Colorado River Aqueduct, which can provide up to one billion gallons of water a day to Southern California cities. Water is also pumped into the Central Arizona Project, providing water to Arizona cities, farms, ranches, and Arizona Native American communities. Parker Dam is the deepest dam in the world at 320 feet and was once one of the most visited power plants along the Colorado River system