Bullhead City takes its name from Bull’s Head Rock, a rock formation on the Colorado River that steamboat pilots once steered by, and that the water behind Davis Dam now almost completely covers. Davis Dam is printed on this map of the city, along with Rotary Park, the Bullhead City Branch Library, Bullhead City Middle School, Fox Creek Junior High, Desert Valley School and the Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse, from Davis Dam out to Riviera, with the Colorado River beside them.
Bullhead City is in Mohave County, directly across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada.
KNOWOL made this map in 2026 and gave it the look of an old atlas. The shaded relief of the river valley comes from United States Geological Survey elevation data, and the streets were drawn from Census Bureau files. The Colorado River forms the Arizona and Nevada state line here, and the city sits at the southern end of Lake Mohave, 97 miles south of Las Vegas. With 60.2 square miles, it’s the largest city in Mohave County by area. Bullhead City had 41,348 people at the 2020 census.
People by the River
The Mojave people were the first to live in the Colorado River valley, farming its rich soil with its plentiful water, and by Mojave tradition life began on Spirit Mountain, the highest peak you can see from the Bullhead City area. In 1540 the Spanish explorer Melchor Díaz met a large population of people who called themselves the Pipa Aha Macav, the “People by the River,” and from Aha Macav came the name Mojave. Mohave County uses the English spelling, while the tribe keeps the traditional Spanish spelling, and both are said “Moh-hah-vee.” The Franciscan explorer Francisco Garcés crossed the river in the Bullhead City area in 1774.
Hardyville
In March 1864 the site was a settlement called Hardyville, named for William Harrison Hardy, a New York native who set up a ferry and steamboat landing where the Mojave Road crossed the Colorado. He built a toll road to Prescott, the new territorial capital, became the town’s first postmaster in 1865, and is credited with inventing the riveted mail sack. From 1864 to 1883 steamboats called at Hardyville with supplies for the mines and carried out their ore, and the landing was considered the low-water limit of navigation on the river. Hardyville became the county seat of Mohave County in 1867, but the seat moved to Cerbat in 1873, the railroads drew the mining trade away, and by the 1890s Hardyville was a ghost town. The Hardyville Pioneer Cemetery, on State Route 95, is the most significant remnant left; its 17 graves are still covered with piles of cobblestones, as they were first made, and it was listed on the National Register in 2001.
Bullhead Dam
Hardyville came back to life as Bullhead City when Davis Dam went up in the 1940s and early 1950s. The dam was first called Bullhead Dam, after the rock, and the camp that grew up around its construction was nicknamed Bullhead. It was later renamed for Arthur Powell Davis, director of the Bureau of Reclamation from 1914 to 1923. The earth-fill dam is 200 feet high and 1,600 feet long at its crest, its power plant stands on the Arizona side, and part of it lies inside the city limits. Its water forms Lake Mohave.
Click to explore a larger preview. The digital watermark does not appear on printed maps.
Names on this map
These names are printed on this map.
Streets and roads: Artie Ave, Dam Rd, Canyon Dr, Bullhead Pkwy, Buck Wash Rd, Moss Mine Dr, Hwy 68, Laughlin View Dr, Kingman Dr, Landon Dr, Foothills Blvd, McCormick Blvd.
More street names, A to Z
Adobe Rd, Black Mountain Rd, Co Hwy 10, Co Hwy 155, Desert Trail Dr, Dunlap Rd, E Ramar Rd, E Sterling Rd, E Sundance Dr, Gardner Rd, Gila Dr, Jamie Rd, Karen Way, Laughlin Ranch Blvd, Marina Blvd, Mohave Dr, Mohave Valley Dr, Newberry Dr, N Oatman Rd, Outpost Dr, Paddock Dr, Palo Verde, Schooner Cv, Sidewheel Dr, Silver Creek, Sonoma Rd, Sundance Dr, Valencia Rd, Via Borgata, Vista Dr.
Along the river
In 1970 Bullhead City was six blocks along Highway 95, across the river from Don Laughlin’s casino, with about a thousand people, while about 3,000 lived in Riviera. In 1984 Bullhead City, Riviera and Holiday Shores voted to incorporate together, and they chose the name Bullhead City for its history. Riviera sits on a peninsula formed by a big bend of the Colorado, and Rotary Park is at its south end. Rotary Park is the city’s largest park, 300 acres of riverfront with beaches, a skate park, a fishing jetty, boat ramps and a lighted sports complex, and every February it hosts the Colorado River Invitational youth soccer tournament. The Bullhead City River Regatta drew 30,158 registered participants in 2016.
Bullhead City Middle School and Fox Creek Junior High are printed on the map. Both belong to the Bullhead City School District, which also runs Desert Valley Elementary. The Bullhead City Branch Library and the Anderson Auto Group Fieldhouse are printed too. The city page says Bullhead City’s library reopened after a major expansion in a “green” building designed by the architect Will Bruder, with skylights that make use of the desert sun. Just north of the Laughlin Bridge, the Colorado River Museum keeps replicas of area landmarks, Native American artifacts and pieces of the valley’s history.
This Bullhead City map is a good addition to an office, library or den, and it can help teach children the geography and history of the area. It’s made for anyone who calls Bullhead City home, from Riviera to Davis Dam, and KNOWOL created it in 2026 to show the city as it looks today. Zoom in on the preview above to explore the details, then click here to get your copy of the Bullhead City map.
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