Hoover Dam | Fact & Information

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam is one o! the architectural wonders of the world. It is one of the highest concrete dams in the world. The dam is in the Black Canyon on the Colorado River, southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hoover Dam is the highest and the third largest concrete dam in the United States. it was built as a part of the Boulder Canyon Project. The other parts of the project were a hydroelectric power plant and a reservoir. The dam is 379 m long with a height at 220 m from the foundation rock It generates more than 4 billion kilowatt-hours at power every year.

Colorado river found its basin

The Colorado River flows from the snow-capped Rocky Mountains and zigzags its way to the Gulf of California. It travels for almost 2, 240 km before it reaches the Gulf of California. The river, along with its tributaries-the Green, the Gunnison, the Sari Juan, the Virgin, the Little Colorado, and the Gila rivers----is collectively called the Colorado River Basin.The states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming are called the Colorado River Basin states.

Hydroelectric power plant

The power plant located at the base of Hoover Dam generates low-cost hydroelectric power for use in the states of Nevada, Arizona, and California. The plant is a U-shaped structure and has some of the largest generators and turbines It is one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the United States. It is Operated and maintained by the Bureau of Reclamation, United States
Department of Interior.

The dam

Hoover Dam is one of the largest masonry structures in the world. It was built to control the hoods of the Colorado River, generate hydroelectricity, and supply domestic and irrigation water to a large area of the Pacific southwest. The construction of the dam began on 20 April 1931. It took five years to complete the concrete placement. The last concrete was placed on 29 May 1935 and the other features of the dam were completed by 1936.'Ihe concrete used was made of sand, crushed rock, water and Portland cement. A total of 21,000 men were employed for the construction of the great dam.

Benefits of the dam

Hoover Dam provides many benefits:

° It controls the floods in the Colorado River.

° It provides water for irrigation to the fertile but arid agricultural regions of California and Arizona.

° It satisfies the power requirements of millions of people in adjacent areas through its hydroelectric power plant.

Diverted route

During the course of the construction of the dam, the Colorado River had to be diverted from its route. Four tunnels were built through the walls of the Black canyon and the river flowed through them for almost live years.

 Six Companies Inc.

Hoover Dam was built by a construction company called Six Companies Inc. The company actually was a group of six major companies that included Morrison-Knudsen Co., Utah Construction Co.,]. F. Shea Co., Pacific Bridge Co., MacDonald & Kahn Ltd. and a joint venture of W. A. Bechtel Co., Henry J. Kaiser, and Warren Brothers. The collaboration happened as there was no single construction company that could invest the $5 million needed to secure the performance bond.

Naming the dam

Hoover Dam was known by various names till President Harry S.Truman signed a resolution on 30 April 1947 naming the dam after the 3lst president of the United States--Herbert Hoover. President Truman recognized the efforts made by Hoover and the part he played in the entire construction of the dam during his presidential tenure. 'the darn was officially named Hoover Dam for the first time in 1931. In 1932, Hoover lost the presidential elections and Franklin Roosevelt came into power. then, the dam was renamed, Boulder Dam.

Lake Mead

Lake Mead is the reservoir of the Hoover Dam. It is one of the largest man-made lakes. The lake extends 184 km upstream and is 1.6-16 km wide. It was named after Elwood Mead, who was the commissioner of the United States, Bureau of Reclamation during the planning and construction of the Boulder Canyon Project.