Potential flood and debris hazards at Cottonwood Cove, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Clark County, Nevada

At Cottonwood Cove, Nevada, most of the existing dikes at the recreation sites are effective in diverting and routing floodflows, up to and including the 100-year flood, away from people and facilities. The dikes across Ranger Residence Wash and Access Road Wash at the mouth divert floods up to the 50-year recurrence interval away from residential areas. Flow and debris damage in protected areas will be relatively minor minor for floods including the 100-year flood, whereas damage caused by sediment deposition at the mouths of the washes near Lake Mohave could be significant for floods equal to or less than the 100-year flood. The extreme flood, a flood meteorologically and hydrologically possible but so rare as to preclude a frequency estimate, could cause great damage and possible loss of life. The present dikes would be topped or breached by such flooding. (USGS)