HOOVER DAM

 

 

The Hoover Dam is a wonder.   Begun in 1931 in the midst of the Great Depression, the last concrete was poured in 1935....and despite its remote location and harsh working conditions, the six companies contracted to build the dam did so in underbudget fashion and finished 2 years ahead of schedule.   (Try to find results like that today!!).

 

The Boulder Canyon Project Act, as it was known, authorized Hoover Damd for "flood control; improvement of navigation and regulation of the Colorado River; storage and delivery of Colorado River waters for reclamation of public lands and other beneficial uses exclusively within the United States; and hydroelectric power production.   The water storage and river control provided by the Hoover Dam and other downstream projects enable residents of the Southwest to use the waters of the lower river for many uses.....including

 

• Irrigation of more than one million acres of some of America's richest croplands and nearly half a million acres in Mexico;
• Meeting the domestic water needs of some 25+ million people in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Tuscon and other southwestern cities and towns as well as Indian communities in Arizona, Nevada and California.
• Generation of low cost hydroelectric power for use in Nevada, Arizona and California.

Turbines that provide the hydroelectric Power of the Dam.

The Colorado River with the post 9-11 "sky bridge" hovering hundreds
of feet above the river.   We drove across this bridge in the motorhome
en route from Arizona to Nevada.

John and Alison with the new Hoover Dam Bridge in the background.

Nearly a century has passed since Hoover Dam rose from the bed of the Colorado River, but there appears to be no end to peoples' fascination with this awe inspiring achievement.  Although more modern dams are taller or generate more power, Hoover continues to lure millions of visitiors from across the nation and around the world.  It is indeed a marvel of both engineeering and design as well as a monumental testimony to the workers who labored 7 days a week to build this man made wonder.