Hoover Dam
Nevada concrete colossus
Hoover Dam is a massive concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River, straddling the Nevada-Arizona border.
Built during the Great Depression (1931-1936), it created Lake Mead and remains an iconic feat of American engineering.
The dam provides hydroelectric power and water storage for the Southwest: We stopped to see Hoover Dam on the way to Vegas.
Major southwestern American waterway
- Lake MeadMajor Colorado River reservoir
- reservoirLarge water storage basin
- water supplyProvisioned H2O delivery system
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
Southwest · Arizona · Nevada · Grand Canyon · watershed · tributaries · drought · recreation
Solid building mixture
- engineeringDesigning functional systems scientifically
- powerplantFacility producing electricity
- turbineBlade-driven energy converter
- penstockControlled water conduit
intake · foundation · abutment · civil engineering · reinforcement · aggregate · formwork · hard hats
Government-built community structures
- FDRDepression-era presidential initials
- Great Depression1930s global economic crisis
- employmentPaid occupation status
- infrastructureBasic physical systems
PWA · economic stimulus · recovery · workers · labor · American icon · national landmark · engineering marvel
Process of creating electricity
- turbinesBlade-driven power converters
- generatorsDevices converting motion to electricity
- electricityEnergy from charged particles
- kilowattsThousand-watt units
transmission · grid · alternating current · powerhouse · energy · Los Angeles · peak demand · renewable
Colorado River
Major southwestern American waterway
- Lake MeadMajor Colorado River reservoir
- reservoirLarge water storage basin
- water supplyProvisioned H2O delivery system
irrigation · Southwest · Arizona · Nevada · Grand Canyon · watershed · tributaries · drought · recreation · fishing
concrete
Solid building mixture
- engineeringDesigning functional systems scientifically
- powerplantFacility producing electricity
- turbineBlade-driven energy converter
penstock · intake · foundation · abutment · civil engineering · reinforcement · aggregate · formwork · hard hats · 1930s
public works
Government-built community structures
- FDRDepression-era presidential initials
- Great Depression1930s global economic crisis
- employmentPaid occupation status
infrastructure · PWA · economic stimulus · recovery · workers · labor · American icon · national landmark · engineering marvel · tourism
power generation
Process of creating electricity
- turbinesBlade-driven power converters
- generatorsDevices converting motion to electricity
- electricityEnergy from charged particles
kilowatts · transmission · grid · alternating current · powerhouse · energy · Los Angeles · peak demand · renewable
- American LandmarksStatue of Liberty, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Mount Rushmore, Golden Gate Bridge
- MegaprojectsPanama Canal, Channel Tunnel, International Space Station, Manhattan Project, Trans-Siberian Railway
- Western LandmarksGrand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mount Rushmore, Golden Gate Bridge
- damsbarrage, spillway, cofferdam, Shasta, Bonneville
- Colorado RiverColorado River, Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon, Green River
- US Dams
Hoover DamNiagara Falls
Famous cataract on US-Canadian border
Victoria Falls · Angel Falls · Grand Canyon · glacier · glacial lake
Hoover Damdam breach
Structural failure releasing impounded water
dam failure · flood · open floodgates · spillway · river delta