The Hoover Dam is a massive concrete dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada. The large resevoir behind the dam is called Lake Mead. The Hoover Dam is not only used for river diversion, but it’s also used to generate power for Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Today’s topic will cover some interesting facts on the Hoover Dam.
Fact #1 - Construction on the Hoover Dam began in 1931 and was completed in 1935, more than two years ahead of schedule.
You have to be impressed with the engineering of the Hoover Damn during the 1930s. They were way ahead of their time. Such a massive structure and complicated project… it’s hard to believe they finished ahead of schedule.
Fact #2 - The Hoover Dam measures 726.4 feet high, 1,244 feet across at the top, 660 feet thick at the base, and 45 feet thick at the top.
That’s a lot of concrete!
Fact #3 - The Hoover Dam cost ONLY $49,000,000 to build.
Sounds like a bargain to me. You can’t even build a shopping center these days for $49 million. Cost effective labor combined with local raw materials resulted in a very cheap project.
Fact #4 - There were 112 deaths associated with the construction of the dam.
There are different death counts floating around out there, but 112 seems to be the most accepted. Some of the deaths associated with heat stroke, were not counted as it didn’t necessarily pertain to the construction of the damn. Others may have died from drowning or falling off towers.
Fact #5 - The Hoover Damn crosses 2 timezones.
There are two clock faces on the intake towers set for Nevada and Arizona time, in the Pacific and Mountain time zones respectively (although because Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, the two clocks show the same time throughout much of the year).
