The Hoover Dam is an engineering feat that has not been duplicated in recent years. Straddling the boarder between Arizona and Nevada on the Colorado River, the world famous dam serves as the main source of electrical power, irrigation, and flood control for the entire Southwestern United States. In addition to serving the necessary duties of a dam, the Hoover Dam is also a tremendous tourist destination and draws millions of visitors each year! The Hoover Dam gets its name from the country's 31st President Herbert Hoover who was supporting the project long before he became the President. It was, in fact, during his stint as the Secretary of Commerce that Hoover began developing a plan that would tame the unruly Colorado River and provide necessary electricity and irrigation to the peoples of Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona. It culminated in the legislation called the Boulder Canyon Project Act that was passed in 1928. The Hoover Dam was completed in a record five years; work being started in the year 1930. At the time of its completion, the dam was the largest in the entire world. To expedite the project, engineers developed a technique that cooled and hardened the concrete quickly. In this way, the project time was cut from ten years to five. The cost of the dam was a mere $ 49,000,000 while the Boulder Canyon Project, comprising of Hoover Dam, Imperial Dam, and the American Canal had a cost of $ 165,000,000. There are a great many legends involving the workers on the dam. Approximately 16,000 workers—both men and women—had their hand in building the structure. Although some deaths did occur, contrary of popular belief, no one is buried inside the walls of the dam. Hoover Dam’s measurements are mind blowing, especially for the early 1930s. Workers used 4,360,000 cubic yards of pure concrete in its construction, making the dam the first edifice to contain more masonry than Egypt’s Great Pyramids. The dam itself now ranks in as the 18th highest dam in the world, standing 726.4 feet tall and measuring 1,244 feet wide at the top of the structure. The dam weighs an estimated 6.6 million tons! The purpose of Hoover Dam and the entire Boulder Canyon Project was to attempt to take the wild and often destructive Colorado River. The river often breeched its banks and flooded nearby towns, fields, and homes. With the river’s power harnessed, the residents of Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona could be provided with power. The Hoover Dam is capable of producing 2,000 megawatts of electricity by using its 17 generators. The Boulder Canyon Project also led to the creation of one of the most loved tourist destination- the lovely body of water, Lake Mead. The lake occupies an astounding 146,000 acres and is visited by thousands each year. The warm Sun gives the area a serene look and it is very near the Sin City itself, Las Vegas. The visitor's center provides full information about the building and purpose of the dam. You can take a behind-the-scenes tour of the dam, but if you want to take a walking tour, make sure your walking shoes are comfortable, as you will walk across the very top of the dam itself.
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The Hoover Dam is an engineering feat that has not been duplicated in recent years. Straddling the boarder between Arizona and Nevada on the Colorado River, the world famous dam serves as the main source of electrical power, irrigation, and flood control for the entire Southwestern United States. In addition to serving the necessary duties of a dam, the Hoover Dam is also a tremendous tourist destination and draws millions of visitors each year!
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