Hoover Dam, formerly called Boulder Dam, dam in Black Canyon on the Colorado River, at the Arizona-Nevada border, U.S. Constructed between 1930 and 1936, it is the highest concrete arch dam in the United States. It impounds Lake Mead, which extends for 115 miles (185 km) upstream and is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world.
The dam is used for flood and silt control, hydroelectric power, agricultural irrigation, and domestic water supply. It is also a major sightseeing destination, with some seven million visitors a year, almost one million of whom go on tours through the dam.
Hoover Dam is 726 feet high and 1,244 feet long at the crest. It contains 4,400,000 cubic yards of concrete. Four reinforced-concrete intake towers located above the dam divert water from the reservoir into huge steel pipes called penstocks.
Hoover Dam is named in honour of Herbert Hoover, the U.S. president during whose administration (1929–33) construction began on the dam and whose work as commerce secretary in the 1920s secured agreements necessary for the project to proceed.
0 Comments