Lake Powell shoreline, level by level

The lake's actual mapped extent at key elevations, from USGS survey data, starting at today's approximate level. The dotted outline on every view is full pool (3,700 ft), so you can see what's missing.

Today — 3,522.96 ft (approximate) Shows the mapped 3,520 ft extent, 2.5 ft below today's level — actual water reaches slightly farther · as of 2026-07-25 1983 record high — 3,708 ft The near-spill year; highest extent ever mapped · 258 sq mi of water Full pool — 3,700 ft Equalization tier; the lake's design surface · 249 sq mi of water 2000 — 3,692 ft The last near-full year before the millennium drought · 239 sq mi of water 2023 record low — 3,520 ft Lowest extent in the USGS series; closest mapped level to today's · 88 sq mi of water Minimum power pool — 3,490 ft Below this, Glen Canyon Dam cannot generate power · 72 sq mi of water Dead pool — 3,370 ft Below this, water cannot pass the dam by gravity · 29 sq mi of water

Modeled shoreline — not for navigation. Polygons: USGS GCMRC Lake Powell extent polygons (derived from the 2021 corrected topobathymetric model; elevations are USBR-datum NGVD29 as published by USGS), simplified for the web — islands and coves smaller than ~0.15 km² are omitted. Where modern comparisons exist, polygon areas match USBR's independent daily area series within ~1.5%; at the lowest levels (minimum power pool, dead pool) USBR's only nearby observations date to the 1964 initial fill, before six decades of sedimentation, so figures there reflect the modern USGS survey. Basemap: USGS The National Map (public domain). Marina points: USGS. Water levels change daily — today's level.