Lake Mead - a view looking northwest along the lakeshore

This view is looking northwest along the lakeshore at 33 Hole Scenic Overlook (near milepost 8 on Lakeshore Scenic Drive). Sedimentary strata of the Late Miocene Muddy Creek Formation are exposed in the bluffs along the shore. The dark volcanic rock (rhyolite) of Lava Butte stands out in visual contrast to the brightly colored sediments of the Horse Spring Formation that surround the butte. The Frenchman Mountains in the distance (near Las Vegas) consist of steeply dipping and faulted sedimentary rocks ranging that range from early Paleozoic to Triassic in age (Tingley and others, 2001; Beard and others, 2007).