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The Hoover Dam on the side of Nevada (Nevada/Arizona/USA
Photo by Dietmar Rabich

Top 10 Amazing Facts about the Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam is on the border between the U.S States of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936, during the great depression. It was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the black canyon of the Colorado River. It is the highest dam in the world, which is as tall as a 60-story building. The dam was referred to as Hoover Dam after President Herbert Hoover, but was named Boulder Dam by the Roosevelt administration. In 1947, the congress restored the Hoover Dam name. 

Not only was Hoover Dam known for the amount of hydroelectric power that it provides to the states such as Nevada , Arizona and California but  also of its architectural prowess.

some of the problems that the workers encountered  while constructing the dam was the intense heatwave ,that they had to face during the year that the construction began, most of the workers had heatstroke. The tunnels of the dam were choked with carbon monoxide  which led to the death of most worker during the project.

Here are some of the top 10 amazing facts about the Hoover Dam

1.Hoover Dam was built for multiple purposes not power supply

The  Hoover dam  was built for multiple purposes such as flood and silt control, hydroelectric power, agricultural irrigation and domestic water supply.  It is also a major sightseeing destination, with about seven million visitors a year, almost one million of whom go on tours through the dam.

2.Construction of Hoover Dam has built an entire city

Title: Vale Auto Court, U.S. 93 – 466, Boulder City, Nevada Subjects: Motels Places: 
Photo by Pub. by Elmo M. Sellers, Los Angeles, Calif. – Boston Public Library Tichnor Brothers collection    

Nevada’s boulder city didn’t exist until the Hoover dam was constructed. Boulder city was constructed when a thousand of workers who were building the dam settled in the area. At the beginning the area had about 5000 inhabitant and later on the population increased ,hence  the city  was constructed on the federal land with no local mayor or any other elected officials. It was managed by the employee of U.S Bureau of Reclamation.

3.Its the second -tallest dam in U.S and third tallest in the world

In 1930s, the dam was the world’s tallest dam. It was built with rising 726.4 feet. Now ,it’s the second -tallest dam in  U.S having been surpassed by Oroville Dam in Northern California in 1968 with 770-foot-high. The globe’s tallest with 1,001 -foot-high  Jinping-I dam in Liangshan, Sichuan, china  which started operating in 2013.

4.The concrete that was used to build the Hoover Dam is still drying

The natural process indicates it will take 125 years for the concrete to dry. However the crew used  some innovative engineering methods to fasten the process. The dam is expected to last for centuries, engineers predicted that the structure could last for more than 10,000 years.

5.Hoover dam created America’s largest reservoir

Hoover Dam Reservoir lakePhoto by Ymaup  –

Lake Mead is a reservoir that is formed by the Hoover dam on the Colorado River. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, which is approximately 30 miles east from Las Vegas.  Its the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. It servers water to the sates of Arizona, California and Nevada, as  well as some of Mexico.

Its includes four large, deep, but connected basins which cover deep canyons an steep walls along the historic Colorado River channel. The four basins are ecologically distinct from one another because the water within them hold on to the properties of their sources. These basins include Gregg, Temple, Virgin and Boulder.

6. The dam’s construction started in the year 1930, and it was completed by the year 1936.

Hoover dam which was also called  Boulder Dam in Black Canyon , was constructed  between 1930 and 1936 during the great depression . It was dedicated on 3oth September  1935by  President Franklin D Roosevelt. The dam’s power generation started in 1936.

7.The dam was the target of a German bomb plot during the world war II

In November 1939 , the U.S. official found out that the German agents were targeting to bomb  Hoover dam. By planting bombs at the intake tower to  obstruct the  power supply to southern California’s aviation manufacturing industry.

The American authorities authorized for stricter regulations for dam employees and visitors  and variety of other security measures such as physical barriers and increased lighting were put in place after learning of the plot.

8. The dam’s name was a source of controversy

Hoover dam was named after Mr. Herbert  Hoover, who was the Nation’s 31st President. On September 30,1930, when the construction of the dam started, the secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur  ordered that the dam to be built as part of the Boulder Canyon Project Act , and it was  to be called Hoover dam  and in 1931 his name was made official. 

While in 1933 , Hoover was succeeded by Franklin Roosevelt, and the new secretary of the interior declared that the structure would be called Boulder Dam. Since by then the name Herbert Hoover had taken on negative association with American , who blamed  him for the great depression. Until 1947, when the Hoover Dam  named was restored by President Harry Truman through the congressional resolution, the dam’s name that is Hoover Dam and Boulder Dam has been interchangeably been used.

9. The Hoover dam is a National Historic Landmark

Today, Hoover Dam is a National Historic Landmark and remains the highest concrete arch dam in the U S. It is also listed as one of America’s seven Modern Civil Engineering wonders.

10.Its a popular tourist attraction

Hoover Dam, AZ, USA
Photo by SÅ‚awek  Zawadzki –

The dam was opened for tourist attraction as early as 1937, and was stopped during the world war II and reopened shortly after in 1945. As the years passed by the the number of visitor increased thus leading establishment of a visitors center in 1995. The tours were offered by the Bureau reclamation and tickets are only bought in the visitors center.