Attraction: Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, which is located on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. The structure was built between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of an enormous effort that involved thousands of workers, and it came at the cost of over a hundred lives. In 1933, Boulder Dam was originally called Hoover Dam because it was built under President Herbert Hoover’s administration. After being renamed, it was officially given Hoover Dam’s current moniker by a joint resolution of Congress in 1947.

A proposal was made as far back as the beginning of the 1900s to harness the power potential of the Black Canyon and nearby Boulder Canyon, which were to be utilized to create a dam to control floods, provide irrigation water, and produce hydroelectric power. In 1928, Congress gave the go-ahead for the project. The winning bid to build the dam was submitted by a consortium called Six Companies, Inc., which commenced construction of the dam in the first quarter of 1931. The size of the concrete structure that had never been built before posed a challenge. Some of the techniques were unproven. Due to the torrid summer weather and the lack of facilities near the location, there were many issues that arose. Despite Six Companies turning the dam over to the federal government earlier than planned, the dam did not have water on it until March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule.

Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir by volume, is dammed to hold back the Colorado River’s water (when it is full). The dam is located near Boulder City, Nevada, a municipality that was established in the construction industry as a location for workers, about 30 mi (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The dam’s generators are used to provide power for both public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California. Hoover Dam is one of the nation’s most popular tourist destinations; more than a million people visit the dam each year. The U.S. is an extremely well-traveled country Until October 2010, US 93 (Route 93) ran along the dam’s crest and when the Hoover Dam Bypass opened, it was decommissioned.