Theodore Roosevelt Lake, Reservoir in Gila County, Arizona, United States

Theodore Roosevelt Lake sits about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of Phoenix in the Sonoran Desert, stretching 22 miles (36 kilometers) between steep rock walls. The water fills a narrow valley framed by reddish cliffs and slopes dotted with cactus, while the horizon is bounded by the Mazatzal Mountains to the north.

The dam was built between 1905 and 1911 as the first major federal irrigation project in the American West. President Theodore Roosevelt dedicated the structure in 1911, after which the reservoir was named in his honor.

The lake's name honours President Theodore Roosevelt, who dedicated the dam on 18 March 1911; the dam and reservoir only received his name officially in 1959, having first been called Salt River Dam No. 1. Anglers come for crappie, carp, sunfish, flathead and channel catfish, and smallmouth and largemouth bass, with a slot limit of 13 to 16 inches for bass. The Grapevine Airstrip, a quarter mile from the shore, hosts several fly-ins a year.

State Route 188 runs along much of the lake's shore, and the Arizona Trail crosses the Salt River on the Route 188 bridge just northeast of Roosevelt Dam. Tonto National Forest manages the camping and day-use areas around the water. Summer heat is severe, so spring and autumn are easier seasons for shore walks and boating.

The water level fluctuates widely depending on season and irrigation demand, revealing broad shoreline zones of pale sediment that form rings around the water. When the level drops, old structures and bridge remnants from before the dam appear above the surface.