Gas on the Colorado River. Hoover Arch Gravity Dam on the Colorado River in the USA

I'm starting to write a report on my trip to Supai. The actual report will begin in the next post, but now I will talk about the Hoover Dam.

Hoover Dam is one of the most famous and one of the largest dams in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River on the border of Nevada and Arizona.

The Colorado River has always had a restive character. As a result of the floods, people died and caused great economic damage. Often the river changed its course. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the idea arose to build hydraulic structures on the Colorado River to reduce the risk of flooding and use the river's waters for agriculture. With the development of the electric power industry, the idea of ​​building a hydroelectric power station also arose. Research has shown that the most suitable place for the construction of the dam is the Black Canyon.

However, the construction required the consent of the seven states through which the Colorado River and its tributaries flow. Some states feared that redistribution water resources will not be in their favor. In 1922, a commission was created, which included representatives from seven states. Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce, took part in the commission's work. As a result of the commission's work, an agreement on the use of water resources of the Colorado River was adopted, which paved the way for the construction of the dam.

Another problem was financing the construction. The Boulder Canyon Dam Act, which provided funding, was passed in 1928. The development of the project was led by John Savage, who later designed several other famous dams. It was decided to build an arched-gravity concrete dam, which has the shape of an arc in plan, convex upstream of the river. The thickness of the dam at the base should have been about two hundred meters, and at the top - fourteen meters. The dam provided for vehicular traffic.

Funds for the construction of the dam were allocated in the summer of 1930 by President Hoover, and work began in the spring of 1931. Construction was supervised by Frank Crow, who had great experience in the construction of dams. The project was originally supposed to build a city for construction workers - Boulder City. However, during the Great Depression it was important to provide jobs to as many people as possible, so construction of the dam began six months earlier than planned, housing workers in temporary camps. It was not until late 1931 that the houses built in Boulder City began to be occupied. It should be noted that all this takes place in the very hot climate of Nevada.

Sculpture of a steeplejack, built in 1995. The prototype was Joe Kine, a construction veteran.
Safety helmets were first used in construction during the construction of the Hoover Dam.

In order to divert the river water and free up the construction site, two temporary dams were built, and four tunnels were cut into the rocks of the canyon, two on the Nevada side and two on the Arizona side. In June 1933 they began concrete works. In Nevada, not far from the construction site, two concrete plants were built. A variety of innovative solutions were used during construction. The design of the dam was not monolithic, but consisted of many columns, between which pipes were laid. Water was supplied through pipes to cool the concrete. After the columns hardened, the spaces between them were filled with mortar. This solution made it possible to avoid cracking of the concrete during hardening.

At the time of its construction, the Hoover Dam was the largest man-made structure in the world. Its height is 221 meters, and its mass is more than 6.6 million tons. The rated power of the power plant is 2080 megawatts; on average, the power plant produces 4.2 billion kWh of electricity per year.

The architectural design of the dam buildings was carried out by Gordon Kaufman in the Art Deco style. There are clocks on two towers, one of them shows the time in Nevada, the other in Arizona.

Arizona and Nevada are in different time zones. But in most of Arizona, the clocks don't change to summer time, so in summer the time coincides. In winter there is a difference of one hour.

The construction of the dam was completed earlier than planned. The opening ceremony took place on September 30, 1935, by which time Franklin Roosevelt had become President of the United States.

According to official data, 96 people died during the construction of the dam in 1931-1935. Some sources indicate a figure of 112 people, including those killed during research and preparatory work. Another 42 people are believed to have died from poisoning carbon monoxide while laying tunnels (officially, they died of pneumonia).
People have chilling legends about workers who fell into liquid concrete, whose corpses were never found. However, this could not happen. The dam was built from interlocking blocks one and a half meters high, seven meters wide and seven to eighteen meters long. Concrete was delivered to the block in buckets with a volume of six cubic meters. Five or six workers leveled and compacted the concrete, making sure there were no air pockets left in it. Each time after unloading the bucket, the level of concrete in the block increased by five to fifteen centimeters, depending on the horizontal dimensions of the block. It is impossible to drown in such a thin layer of concrete, and besides, the accident would not have gone unnoticed if there were several people at the site. So there is no need to invent all sorts of horrors, especially since there were already plenty of difficulties during construction. The work was carried out in very difficult and dangerous conditions, in a very hot climate.

The dam was built during the administration of President Herbert Hoover, but these were the years of the Great Depression, and the president was extremely unpopular. Therefore, only in 1947 the dam was named after him, and before that it was called the Boulder Dam.

The construction of the giant dam, along with other hydraulic structures, provided irrigation to the fields of Southern California and eliminated the threat of devastating floods. Electricity gave a powerful impetus to the development of the Southwestern United States, including Las Vegas, which in the early 30s was a very small town. In the 80-90s, the power plant was reconstructed, and it continues to be one of the largest in the USA. About a quarter of the electricity produced is consumed by Nevada, a fifth by Arizona, and the rest by California.

Since 1937, the dam has been visited by tourist groups. Nowadays, the dam is visited by more than a million people a year.

The Hoover Dam carried Highway 93, connecting Nevada and Arizona. In 2003, construction began on a bypass bridge over the Colorado River, and it opened to traffic in 2010.

Now visitors can enter the dam from the Nevada side, having passed control at the entrance, they can cross the dam to the other side and climb, but then the road is closed, that is, they cannot go onto the main highway in Arizona. Visitors can also enter the bridge on foot, but they cannot walk to the other side. This is an excellent vantage point overlooking the power plant, dam and reservoir.

photo yevgeniy_lysyy

Water intake towers

Water intake towers and Lake Med - a reservoir created by a dam.

Lake Honey is the largest reservoir by volume in the United States.

Spillway

Clock on the water intake tower.

"Republic" - monument to Oscar Hansen.

An image was made on the floor showing the positions of the stars on the day of the grand opening, September 30, 1935.

Inclined power line tower and visitor center.

There is an entrance fee to the visitor center. They show a film about the history of the dam's construction. You can take a tour of the dam or power plant. I took the second one and went downstairs in the elevator.

Turbine water pipeline.

Generators in the turbine room.

The power plant has 17 turbine generators - nine on the Arizona side and eight on the Nevada side. (for some reason only seven are visible here). In 1986-1993, the power plant was modernized and the turbogenerators were replaced.

Generator rotor.

Control panels.

Then the elevator takes visitors back up to the observation deck, where the view of the dam is slightly different.

Bypass bridge over the Colorado River. The bridge rises 260 meters above the Colorado River, making it the second tallest bridge in the United States and the tallest concrete arch bridge in the world. The length of the bridge is 579m, and the central span is 320m.

Colorado River, bypass bridge and power plant building.

Power plant building.

Inclined power line supports.

Power plant diagram.

photo

Airwolfhound / flickr.com Airwolfhound / flickr.com Airwolfhound / flickr.com View from Hoover Dam (Alexander Russy / flickr.com) Ron Reiring / flickr.com Ron Reiring / flickr.com Lauri Väin / flickr.com David Herrera / flickr. com Viator.com / flickr.com Construction of the O'Callaghan Bridge (Alan Stark / flickr.com) Henner Zeller / flickr.com Hoover Dam Towers (Joseph Francis / flickr.com) Joseph Francis / flickr.com Hoover Dam Clock Tower (Ian Lee / flickr.com) Joseph Francis / flickr.com Omshivaprakash H L / flickr.com Xiquinho Silva / flickr.com Hoover Dam Electric Generators (Dennis Redfield / flickr.com) Joseph Francis / flickr.com Joseph Francis / flickr.com Electric Generators Hoover Dam (Joseph Francis / flickr.com)

In the lower delta of the Colorado River is located one of the most famous attractions of the United States and Las Vegas - the Hoover Dam. The hydroelectric power station, which is a huge hydraulic structure more than 200 meters high, was built in the 30s of the last century.

Black Canyon - the place where this structure is located, is located near the states of Arizona and Nevada. The Hoover Dam got its name in honor of one of the American presidents, namely Herbert Hoover. The 31st head of a huge state took an active part in the organization and progress of the construction of the dam, which gave him the honor of giving his name to such a grandiose construction project.

The Colorado River has repeatedly created many problems for the population living on its banks. Most often, farmland located downstream suffered: with the melting of snow, river waters overflowed their banks and covered everything that was within their reach.

The main reason behind the decisive step in constructing the dam was the designers' assumption that this was the only way to eradicate the Colorado's annual flood problems. In addition, hopes were pinned on the emerging new reservoir for the development of agriculture in the surrounding areas and the supply of drinking water in several areas of California.

Signing of the Treaty – Colorado River Convention

For quite a long time, the main obstacle to the construction of the dam was disagreements between the heads of neighboring administrative divisions. Most of them insisted that Colorado's resources should be distributed evenly among all likely consumers.

This fact contributed to the creation of a special committee, which included representatives of all those interested in the proceedings, including the main persons of the Neighboring States and American government. All of them were afraid of the intentions of the California authorities, who were claiming the right to dispose of the main volume of water reserves.

The result of the activities of the above commission was the signing of a multilateral agreement - the Colorado River Convention, which legally established a mechanism for distributing the river reserve between interested parties.

Preparation of the project and investment resources

The Hoover Dam, according to its construction project, needed a significant infusion Money, the source of which was the state budget. But approval from the US authorities for the construction of such a large-scale hydraulic structure was received only after some time.

Despite the decision signed by Coolidge in 1928, the first investments were received only two years later. It was then that Hoover occupied the post of head of state. Initially, construction work on the creation of the Hoover Dam was planned to be carried out in the Boulder Canyon, as a result of which in the future construction project was called the Boulder Canyon Project, despite the fact that the Hoover Dam was built in the Black Canyon.

Difficult working conditions

Leading US companies were appointed as construction contractors. The number of workers involved in the process of creating a hydroelectric power station was simply incredible: the largest number of workers was recorded in 1934 - more than 5,200 people.

View of Hoover Dam (Joseph Francis / flickr.com)

A feature of the contract agreement was a ban on hiring Asians, and a limit on hiring Africans - only about 30 black people were allowed to take on the lowest paid jobs.

During construction, a special settlement for workers and construction workers was to be built next to the Hoover Dam. However, plans were changed as the work schedule was revised in order to increase the number of available labor vacancies. All these factors influenced the progress of building the town, which was not completed when the main number of mercenaries arrived. Construction workers had to live in temporary barracks near the Hoover Dam.

It is worth noting the terrible working conditions. Lack of normal living work time and the dangers that await workers at every step due to neglect of safety regulations became the reasons for the strike that took place in 1931, which was not successful - the police were ordered to disperse the strikers using force. After these events, the state authorities decided to speed up the pace of construction, and a year later the mercenaries were settled in permanent houses in the adjacent completed city.

Joseph Francis / flickr.com

Until the end construction work In Boulder City, prostitution, the sale of any alcoholic beverages, and gambling were strictly prohibited. Moreover, in fact, the ban lasted another forty years, and gambling has not been lifted to this day, which makes this city the only one in Nevada where such a taboo exists.

The Hoover Dam was born under difficult, inhumane conditions. People working in deep tunnels were suffocating from carbon monoxide, but management flatly refused to take responsibility for the illnesses and deaths of their subordinates.

The Hoover Dam and the history of its creation are distinguished by the fact that it was here that workers first used helmets to protect their heads from impacts. However, in total, the victims were the negligence of project managers who neglected to follow the rules technical safety, there were 96 people.

Construction works

The Black Canyon, in which the Hoover Dam was to be built, was quite narrow and played a dividing role between Nevada and Arizona. It was planned to divert water in the opposite direction from the construction point using 4 tunnels, total length which are almost 5 km.

Hoover Dam, Arizona/Nevada, USA (Ron Reiring / flickr.com)

Hoover Dam has concrete base, which was filled in 1933. For this purpose, nearby non-metallic deposits were specially opened and factories for the production of concrete were built.

Facing cooling problems during the construction of such a gigantic dam concrete mixture, the builders had to make adjustments to the original plan, and then the Hoover Dam was built from many individual trapezoidal columns connected to each other. This construction methodology made it possible to significantly speed up the concrete hardening process.

The pit for the hydroelectric power station was supposed to be dug simultaneously with the main pit of the reservoir. All excavation completed by 1933.

Hoover Dam power generators (Joseph Francis / flickr.com)

Three years later, the first electric generators were installed and the first electricity. Today, Hoover Dam houses 17 electrical generators that reach a capacity of up to 2,074 MW.

They balance electricity consumption between households and manufacturing in the western United States. 25 years ago, the power management system at Hoover Dam was modernized and equipped with modern computers.

Architectural appearance of the dam

The exterior of the Hoover Dam was supposed to look like an ordinary wall, decorated with a neo-Gothic balustrade. The creators did not intend to take the issue of the architecture of the hydroelectric power station seriously at all, since the primary task was to complete construction as quickly as possible. At the same time, this decision caused a whole wave of critical discussions, and in the end, it was decided to work out the architectural appearance of the Hoover Dam.

Invited architect from Los Angeles, Gordon Kaufman, achieved dramatic changes by approving new project, related to the Art Deco style. In addition to the towers on the top of the dam, his idea was to place clocks on the spillway towers.

Legal name: Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam did not always have its legal name. The fact is that in addition to the original “Boulder Dam” associated with the site of the dam’s construction, there were other factors that prevented the legendary structure from bearing the name it deserved.

Some time later, after the dam was officially named in honor of President Herbert Hoover, he lost the election, giving way to Franklin Roosevelt. The US Congress again proposed returning the name to its original version. And only after the death of President Roosevelt, the project to return the structure named after Hoover was signed by the next American leader.

New O'Callaghan Bridge

Until 2010, the highway connecting Arizona with the Mexican border passed through the Hoover Dam. The part of the road adjacent to the dam did not meet the requirements of the highway and the number of traffic Vehicle.

Construction of O'Callaghan Bridge (Alan Stark / flickr.com)

Also the winding, dangerous two-lane road had several difficult sharp turns and bottlenecks with low level review.

The 2001 terrorist attack in New York left its mark on access system motor transport. To avoid repeated terrorist attacks, more thorough inspections of vehicles were organized, which slowed down the passage of vehicles and increased traffic jams at the entrance.

But the O'Callaghan Bridge, opened 6 years ago, not far from the Hoover Dam, has significantly reduced the flow of cars passing through the dam.

The significance of Hoover Dam today

The construction of the Hoover Dam had a significant impact on water regime Colorado River and its ecological system. Similar negative impacts inherent in all artificial hydraulic structures, however, the benefits of the dam are significant: the river canyon was freed from frequent floods.

Hoover Dam, Hoover Dam, Hoover Dam (English: Hoover Dam, also known as Boulder Dam) is a unique hydraulic structure in the United States, a 221 m high concrete arch-gravity dam and hydroelectric power station built in the lower reaches of the Colorado River. Located in the Black Canyon, on the border of Arizona and Nevada, 48 km southeast of Las Vegas; forms Lake Mead. Named after Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, who played an important role in its construction. Construction of the dam began in 1931 and ended in 1936, two years ahead of schedule.


By the way, in total, 3.33 million cubic meters of concrete and about 729 million USD in modern money terms were spent on the construction of the dam.

The Hoover Dam is a very popular object; it is used in filming films, TV series, and also in computer games. For example, a dam is used in the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas near the town of Las Venturas. Its name in the game is Sherman Dam. And one of the tasks in the game is dedicated to infiltrating the turbine room of the dam and disconnecting the city from electricity. The picture shows the Hoover Dam in the GTA game



In film Transformers agents of Sector 7 hid Spark and Megatron on the dam.

"Beavis and Butt-Head Do America"

San Andreas Fault (film)

Still from an unknown cartoon/film:

In film « Universal Soldier» Hoover Dam is taken over by terrorists

In film "Superman" shows a dam failure caused by an earthquake.

The Simpsons

Hoover Dam - location Fallout 4: New Vegas.
A unique pre-war building, reconstructed after the war. During the nuclear bombing, it was slightly damaged, was restored and in 2281 was able to provide New Vegas with electricity.

Perhaps I missed something else, but the symbolism of this structure is amazing. This accumulation of symbolism only existed before the collapse of the 911 Twin Towers.

MASONIC SYMBOLS ON HOOVER DAM

To build a dam in this uninhabited corner of America, it was even necessary to build new town- Boulder City. It was ready to accept its first residents only in the second year of construction, which, coupled with difficult working conditions, caused mass strikes. On the Nevada side, there is a memorial to the workers who died at this “construction site of the century” (the inscription says they died to make the desert bloom):

Alcyone is the main sun of the Pleiades

P.S.: Another interesting fact: if you pour water from a bottle downwards while standing on top of this huge structure. Refuting all the laws of physics, water will not only not spill down, it will quickly fly up!

This phenomenon is due to the fact that the design of the dam creates a powerful upward flow of air, which pushes objects over its edges

At the Hoover Dam various companies conduct their advertising presentations.

Built at the height of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Hoover Dam became the greatest structure of its time and the largest dam at the time of its construction. Construction of a dam is very hard work, but more than 20 thousand people were happy to get into the construction of the Hoover Dam, this was the only opportunity to earn money in these troubled times for the United States. Dubbed one of the 10 Greatest Structures of the 20th Century, Hoover Dam continues to attract crowds of tourists 70 years later. We will tell you about the details of the construction of the dam and the history of this great structure

Hoover Dam attracts more than a million tourists annually. This architectural miracle is located near Las Vegas, in the Black Canyon. The idea of ​​​​building a dam to provide water to Southern California was born thanks to US Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover. He convened a commission and set out to develop a plan to provide water from the Colorado River to surrounding states. As a result, in 1922, the Colorado River Compact plan was born - a plan to build a dam that would block the waters of the Colorado. President Calvin Coolidge approved the project in 1928. The original construction site was Boulder Canyon, and the dam was to be named accordingly. The following year, Hoover became president, coming close to the project of a dam, which it was decided to build in the Black Canyon. The original name of the Boulder Dam was changed in 1947, President Truman approved the new name of the dam, giving it the name of Hoover. This is what the place where the great Hoover Dam eventually grew looked like

Six Companies, a consortium of six small contractors, won the bid to build the Hoover Dam. General Superintendent Frank Crowe developed special lighting that allowed operation 24 hours a day. Many other innovations were introduced. The first step was to divert the Colorado waters away from the construction site. Four diversion tunnels were built, carved into the canyon. The construction of the tunnels took exactly a year, after which the main work on the construction of the Hoover Dam began. The dam was built from interlocking blocks that were gradually filled with concrete. The dam took five years to complete, two years ahead of schedule. It was also possible to save a significant part of the budget. President Franklin Roosevelt opened the dam on September 30, 1935

Now Hoover Dam- a national landmark. It is the tallest dam in the Western Hemisphere, 725 feet (221 meters) above the Colorado River. 17 powerful generators produce 4 billion kilowatts of energy per year. This is one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the country. The upkeep and maintenance of the Hoover Dam is paid for entirely through energy sales and money from tourists.

The observation deck on the dam offers beautiful views of Lake Mead, the largest artificial lake in USA. IN last years Reservoir levels have dropped and Lake Mead can hold up to 10 trillion gallons of water, which is what two years of constant flow from the Colorado River would hold. About 9 million tourists come to the Hoover Dam every year

Many visitors are primarily interested in two questions: 1) How many people died during the construction of the Hoover Dam? 2) How many of the victims were buried in the concrete of the dam? The answer to the second question is very simple - none of the builders were buried in concrete. As we already mentioned, during the construction of the Hoover Dam they used blocks that were gradually filled with cement. It was impossible to fall there. As for those killed during the construction of the dam, the official number of victims is 96. These were people who died from falling stones, falling off cliffs, etc. The statistics do not include deaths from pneumonia and other diseases. Another figure is announced - 112 victims. But this includes those people who died long before construction of the Hoover Dam began. According to legend, the first to die was Inspector J. Tierney, who drowned while looking for perfect place for the dam. By the way, his son, Patrick Tierney, was the last to die. A monument was later erected in honor of the workers and builders of the Hoover Dam

We briefly talked about the history of the construction of the Hoover Dam, and now let's move on to interesting facts. Since the dam became a unique structure for its time, many innovations were introduced during its construction. For example, safety helmets were first used in construction

In the construction town - Boulder City - prostitution, gambling and the sale of alcohol were prohibited during construction. The ban on the sale of alcohol remained until 1969, and gambling is still prohibited. Boulder City is the only city in Nevada with such a ban.

The area around Lake Mead remains marked by the peak water level recorded in 1983. The reason for this increase in level was the record amount of precipitation that fell in the western part of the United States as a result of natural phenomenon El Niño. This mark is clearly visible in the photograph.

The process of hardening the concrete from which a building is built Hoover Dam, is still happening today. Every year the dam becomes stronger. The dam can operate without human intervention for more than two years, and will stop only because the turbines become overgrown with algae.

The Hoover Dam is a very popular object; it is used in filming films, TV series, and also in computer games. For example, the dam is used in the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas near the city of Las Venturas. Its name in the game is Sherman Dam. And one of the tasks in the game is dedicated to infiltrating the turbine room of the dam and disconnecting the city from electricity. The picture shows the Hoover Dam in the GTA game

Built on the border of two states - Nevada and Arizona, which have different time zones

Due to terrorist threats, vehicle traffic on the dam was limited. All cars are inspected, and large trucks are completely detoured. For this reason, construction began on a bridge over the Black Canyon.

In the famous popular science film “Life After Man,” the Hoover Dam is among the objects that will exist 10,000 years after the disappearance of man. The Hoover Dam is the greatest construction achievement in US history, an achievement that has still not been overcome

Near colorful Las Vegas, between the states of Arizona and Nevada, in the Colorado River Valley, lies the largest reservoir in America - the Hoover Dam. It received its name in honor of one of the US presidents, Herbert Hoover. It is now one of the most picturesque American attractions.

History of construction

At the dawn of the 20th century, local authorities decided to build a huge dam on the Colorado River. Since in Lately she began to deliver everything to the residents of the valley more problems- melted snow flowing from the mountains overflowed the river, and it flooded part of the surrounding lands. The construction of a dam could save a lot of inconvenience - tame Colorado and improve water supply in California. When developing the dam project, engineers faced not an easy task. The dam had to be placed in a place that would be beneficial to everyone. So that God forbid we leave some area without water. Construction began in 1931. At this time, the Great Depression broke out in the United States. Unemployment forced people to leave their homes and take on any job. Building the dam was hard and dangerous work. Before the concrete arch could be erected, it was necessary to strengthen the canyon walls. Accidents were not uncommon. Many died - some drowned, others were poisoned by carbon monoxide. Next to construction site It was decided to build a small working town, Boulder City. At first, people huddled in tents and patiently waited for comfortable housing. The city was built only six months after the construction of the dam began. The celebratory opening of the reservoir took place in 1935. And a couple of years later it became one of the most popular tourist destinations. Every year crowds of tourists come here to enjoy this grandiose man-made creation.

Dam tour

The Hoover Dam is one of America's most extraordinary landmarks. It reaches a height of 221 meters. There are 17 powerful electric generators operating here. This is the brainchild of the famous American architect Gordon Kaufman. Externally, it resembles a huge thick wall, decorated with patterned stairs, terraces and balconies in the neo-Gothic style. Along the edges rise the original water-bearing towers, made in the art deco style. There is a huge round clock on the powerful water tower. Not far from the dam there is a spacious observation deck. From here you have a wonderful view of the quiet expanse of Lake Mead and the surrounding natural landscapes. It was formed after the appearance of the reservoir. Currently, it is one of the largest artificial lakes in America. In 2001, the first highway was built here. Terrorist act, which occurred this year, forced local authorities to increase police patrols. Thorough searches slowed down traffic. As a result, the Callaghan Bridge was built across the dam in 2010. New car lanes were opened.

The Hoover Dam is located in an incredibly picturesque location. The diversity of natural landscapes fascinates and delights. There are high mountain ranges and amazingly deep ravines and canyons, bizarre hills and steep cliffs. Tourists have the opportunity to go on boat trips. The excursion takes you past fabulous waterfalls, hot springs, picturesque hills and mountain ranges.

Having climbed the dam, the guides first of all draw the attention of tourists to the clocks decorating the water towers. Some show the time zone of Arizona, others show the time zone of Nevada.

During the strengthening of the canyon walls, heavy stone boulders often rolled down. The workers needed protection; for the first time during construction, they began to use metal helmets.

The Hoover Dam is the only major US dam built not by slaves, but by ordinary workers. Within Boulder City, during the construction of the dam, an unusual law was passed prohibiting prostitution, gambling and the sale of alcoholic beverages. It is interesting that to this day there is not a single gambling establishment in the city. Although nearby is Las Vegas, sparkling with the lights of numerous casinos.

Hoover Reservoir can be seen in the following films - the documentary "Life After People", the films "Soldier University" and "Transformers", in the animated series "Beavis and Butt-head".

Every year, the dam's turbines generate up to 2 thousand megawatts of electricity.