The Hoover Dam
The Iconic Hoover Dam Straddling The Colorado River Between Nevada & Arizona. One Of The Great Successes Of Modern Engineering
People atop the crest of the Hoover Dam. April 6, 2013
The Hoover Dam, less commonly known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam straddling the Colorado River between the US states of Nevada and Arizona. One of the great successes of modern engineering, it was constructed between 1931 & 1935 during the Great Depression, the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, but at the cost of over one hundred lives. The dam, which was named after former US President Herbert Hoover, impounds Lake Mead. It’s a major tourist attraction – nearly a million people visit each year – located about 55 kilometres (35 miles) southeast of Las Vegas. I stopped off en route from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon West, 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the dam, on day 6 of an 8-day US Southwest road trip.
People atop the crest of the Hoover Dam on the Nevada & Arizona border (
), USA. April 6, 2013.
– US President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the Dedication of Boulder Dam, September 30, 1935
The Hoover Dam as seen from the new Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. On the Nevada (left) & Arizona (right) border, USA. April 6, 2013.
The main west-east/east-west route, U.S. 93, ran along the dam’s crest until October 2010, when the Hoover Dam Bypass opened. Part of the bypass was the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, from where the above picture was taken. The bridge wasn’t here when I last was back in 2003 so it was good to get a fresh prospective on the area.
The new Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge spanning the Black Canyon as seen from the apex of the Hoover Dam on the Nevada (right) & Arizona (left) border, USA. April 6, 2013.
Dam Pioneering
Since about 1900, the Black Canyon and nearby Boulder Canyon had been investigated for their potential to support a dam that would control floods, provide irrigation water and produce hydroelectric power. In 1928, Congress authorized the project. The winning bid to build the dam was submitted by a consortium called Six Companies Inc., which began construction on the dam in early 1931. Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, some of the techniques used in its construction untested. The torrid summer weather and the lack of facilities near the site also presented difficulties. Nevertheless, Six Companies turned over the dam to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule. It was the world’s largest dam when completed and was instrumental in generating power and providing irrigation via Lake Mead, which was created behind the dam.
Taken from the Arizona side, the rear of the Hoover Dam on the Nevada & Arizona border, USA. April 6, 2013.
Traffic below the new Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge spanning Black Canyon on the Nevada & Arizona border, USA. April 6, 2013.