Hoover Dam
Description
Completed in 1935, after five years of intensive construction, the Hoover Dam is a modern engineering marvel. It stretches 380m (1247ft) across the Colorado River, holding in Lake Mead the equivalent volume of two years’ worth of the river’s flow. Thousands of workers were involved in the project, which provided much needed employment during the Great Depression, although tragically 96 men died in industrial accidents during its construction. The dam contains 2,486,250 cubic metres (3,250,000 cubic yards) of concrete. It provides flood control and functions primarily as a storage reservoir, supplying water to southern Nevada, southern California and Arizona. A natural by-product is power generation, with electricity transmitted to Nevada, as well as nearby California and Arizona. Visitor tours examine the construction of the dam and explore its hydroelectric generating facilities, whilst the Hoover Dam Visitor Center features displays on the engineering process and the operation of the dam.
Air: Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. Road: Coach: Chartered services from Las Vegas. Car: US Hwy-93 (from Las Vegas).
Contact Addresses
DOI Bureau of Reclamation, Visitor Services, PO Box 60400, Boulder City, NV 89006, USA
Tel: (702) 294 3524
Website: www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/
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