Vandals were caught on video destroying protected rock formations at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and park rangers are seeking the public’s help identifying them.
So what happened? And where is Lake Mead? Here’s what we know.
Visitors vandalize federally-protected formations at Lake Mead
According to CNN, a pair of visitors scaled the rocks along the park’s Redstone Dune Trail and shoved sandstone slabs to the ground. Recreation area spokesperson John Haynes called the destruction of the federally-protected formations “appalling.”
The video was taken April 7, according to KVVU. The men are suspected of vandalism, the recreation area said in an Instagram post.
Where is Lake Mead? What state is it in?
Lake Mead is a reservoir on the border of Nevada and Arizona. It was formed by the Hoover Dam along the Colorado River.
When full, Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States by volume and is second only to Lake Powell in surface area, according to the National Park Service. It was first flooded in 1935 and provides water to Arizona, California, Nevada and some of Mexico.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area spans 1.5 million acres, including two lakes along with mountains, canyons, valleys and wilderness.
Lake Mead water level hit three-year high, but is falling again
At the end of February, Lake Mead’s water levels were at 1,076.52 feet, higher than levels taken at the end of January, according to measurements by the Bureau of Reclamation. Before this year, the most recent highest level was recorded in April 2021, when it was measured at 1079.30 feet.
However, Newsweek reports that the level is falling again, sitting at 1,074.06 feet as of April 13. This is 154.94 feet below its full pool level of 1,229 feet.
Some areas of the Southwest are still in drought, although nearly all of California is no longer under that classification.
Drought areas in California lie in the north along the Oregon border, the east along the Nevada border and the southeast along the Arizona border.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Where is Lake Mead? Vandals destroy protected rock formations