Brad--Hoover+Dam

=HOOVER DAM=

The Hoover Dam is an enormous seven hundred foot high dam in Nevada that has been operating for over 75 years. The dam is located thirty miles south east of Las Vegas on the US Highway 93 at the Nevada-Arizona border. The Hoover Dam is a system that provides water to twenty five million people. The dam’s generators provide power for Nevada, Arizona, and California. This project triggered an era of thirty five thousand big dams around the world for the same purpose. The construction of Hoover Dam began in March 1931 during the Great Depression. It was built by a construction company called the Six Company Incorporated. There were sixteen thousand men and women employed to complete this Hoover Dam Project. The dam was named after President Herbert Hoover and the first power was produced in October of 1936.

The Hoover Dam is seven hundred twenty five feet high, one thousand two hundred forty four feet wide, six hundred six feet thick at the base, and forty five feet thick at the top. This project lasted four and a half years costing one hundred sixty five million dollars. There are seventeen generators at Hoover Dam which produce four to five billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The total amount of concrete that was used to build the dam was around four and a half million yards. The Hoover Dam Project includes the Colorado River flood control, water for irrigation, electricity generation, and recreation and wildlife habitation.

Today, the Hoover Dam is used for flood control on the lower Colorado River. It provides low cost hydroelectric power for Nevada, Arizona, and California. An alternative way to cross the river was needed for the tourists to have a safer route. On October 19, 2010 the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge opened. It is a new part of Highway 93 that is a four lane, four mile long road. The bypass bridge is the highest and longest arched concrete bridge in the Western Hemisphere. Tourists have a spectacular view riding across the bridge.

There have been several severe droughts since the 1950s that cause problems for California, Nevada, and Arizona. If low rain fall continues, the Hoover Dam will not be able to meet these states’ water demands. The Bureau of Reclamation has to develop guidelines for water shortage. There was controversy about the hundreds of construction workers who were killed, the dam’s impact on the Colorado River, flooding wildlife habitats, and the change of the Colorado’s natural flow. There are endless job opportunities at Hoover Dam such as tour guides, power plant operators, information technology specialists, police, and security officers.

The Hoover Dam is the most popular reclamation project in the nation. Today’s farmers depend on the irrigation of the dam to produce their crops year round. The Hoover Dam is often called, “A modern civil engineering wonder.” It is one of the most exciting attractions for tourists to visit in America. Hoover Dam attracts eight to ten million visitors per year. It was named one of the top ten construction achievements of the twentieth century.

Work Cited Dutemple, Lesley A. //The Hoover Dam.// Minneapolis; Lerner publications, 2003. “Answers to Faqs.” Sunsetcities. Accessed on 10 November 2010 <http://www.sunsetcities.com/hoover-dam/faqs-00.html “Hoover Dam Review” Vegas. Accessed on 10 November<http://www.vegas.com/attractions/outside-lasvegas/hoover Dam.html “Editorial stimulating the economy.” //Hutchinson news// 10/25/2010.