hoover dam usa
22:47
Hoover
Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black
Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada
and Arizona. It was constructed 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 a massive effort involving
thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives. The dam was
controversially named after President Herbert Hoover.
Since
about 1900, the Black Canyon and nearby Boulder Canyon had been investigated
for their potential to support a dam that would control floods, provide
irrigation water and produce hydroelectric power. In 1928, Congress authorized
the project. The winning bid to build the dam was submitted by a consortium
called Six Companies, Inc., which began construction on the dam in early 1931.
Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, and some of the
techniques were unproven. The torrid summer weather and lack of facilities near
the site also presented difficulties. Nevertheless, Six Companies turned over
the dam to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead
of schedule.
Hoover
Dam impounds Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States by volume.
The dam is located near Boulder City, Nevada, a municipality originally
constructed for workers on the construction project, about 30 mi (48 km)
southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The dam's generators provide power for public
and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California. Hoover Dam is a major
tourist attraction; nearly a million people tour the dam each year. The heavily
travelled U.S. 93 ran along the dam's crest until October 2010, when the Hoover
Dam Bypass opened.
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