Hoover Dam ... is located on the Nevada and Arizona border. Hoover Dam is a major source of flood control, irrigation and electrical power in the Southwest and was, for several years, the largest dam in the world. Hoover Dam is still one of the most interesting attractions in the west and continues to be a major tourist destination. Driving to the Hoover Dam from the Nevada side takes you down a narrow winding, two-lane road. The dark, rocky canyon walls angle sharply to the bottom of Black Canyon. They challenge you as you make hairpin turns along the wall of Black Canyon. In contrast, the approach to Hoover Dam from the Arizona side is not quite as challenging. As one enters Black Canyon from the Arizona side you will see the back of Hoover Dam and its intake towers. Currently this is a good time to see the intake towers because the water level is way down. In the past, as shown by the photo on the left from 1999, the water from Lake Mead almost completely covered them. To illustrate the effects of the current drought, we use photos taken through the last 9 years. On February 2002 we were invited by Hoover Dam management to take the tour and as many photos as we wanted. The photos and pictures that were taken are on almost all these pages including the Visitors Center and 'Inside Hoover Dam'. Our deepest thanks go to the people who manage and maintain Hoover Dam and to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Hoover Dam Information   Hoover Dam Tours   Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours   Is It Hoover Dam or Boulder Dam?   Flooding Before Hoover Dam   Driving Directions   Las Vegas Tours   Facts List And FAQ's   Hoover Dam Bypass Project Hoover Dam Photos  - Overflow Tunnels - Arizona Side  - Visitors Center - 'Bronze Turbine'  - The Hoover Dam Intake Towers  - The Front Of Hoover Dam  - Inscriptions And Dedications  - Drought Effects    - Bathtub Ring    - Intake Towers    - Spillways  - Inside Hoover Dam Nearby National Parks:   Grand Canyon Tours   Lake Mead   Valley of Fire   Red Rock Canyon   Spring Mountains   Desert National Wildlife Refuge   Great Basin National Park   Zion National Park   Death Valley National Park Nearby Lodging:   Nevada Hotels   Boulder City Hotels   Henderson Hotels   Las Vegas Hotels   North Las Vegas Hotels   Mesquite Hotels   Overton Hotels   Laughlin Hotels   Arizona Hotels   Kingman Arizona Hotels   Lake Havasu City Hotels   Bullhead City Hotels

Taming the Colorado River  ... too thick to drink, too thin to plow .... Long before there was a Hoover Dam, the Colorado River flowed uninterrupted along its 1,450 mile course from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California. For 12 million years the Colorado relentlessly carved out the Grand Canyon, Marble Canyon and other places along its path. As it cut its way through deserts, canyons and mountainous plateaus, the Colorado carried with it tons of silt to the lower Colorado and eventually out to the Gulf of California. Spanish settlers noted the reddish color of its silt and they gave it the name we know it by today, the Colorado River. The muddy Colorado River has also been known by several names other names. In 1540, Hernando de Alarcon sailed to the head of the Gulf of California and later up the Colorado River which he name Rio de Buena Guia, or 'River of Good Guidance'. An ironic name considering that he did not find what he was looking ... Hoover Dam Tours From Las Vegas Hoover Dam Deluxe Tour : Buy Hoover Dam Deluxe Tour Tickets HERE Ultimate Hoover Dam Tour and Lake Mead Cruise (Seasonal Tour) : Buy Hoover Dam and Lake Mead Cruise Tour Tickets HERE Hoover Dam Mini Tour : Buy Hoover Dam Mini Tour Tickets HERE

... a vengeful and unreliable river ....
Before the Hoover Dam was built, almost every spring the Colorado River flooded the low lying areas along its route. The volume of water would be huge because the Colorado basin drains an area of over 242,000 square miles. The silt that it carried created a huge delta in the Gulf of California. However, in the hot Southwestern summers, the flow of the Colorado River slowed to a trickle. For millions of years this was the natural cycle of the river.

When areas along the lower Colorado river began to be settled in the late nineteenth century, the inconsistent nature of the river made it an unreliable source for irrigation. The wanton destruction caused when the river flooded in the spring had a deep impact on the farm lands near and sometimes not so near, its banks.

In fact, this damage caused so much attention that by the 1920's, it had become necessary and politically expedient to control the flooding along the path of the lower Colorado River, especially in California.

Trying to control the Colorado was definitely not a new idea. Earlier attempts ended in disaster. The most famous disaster had almost completely and forever changed the geography and history of the entire lower Colorado region. To read more about this amazing incident CLICK HERE.

The role played by Herbert Hoove

... political animosities had to be resolved ....
Politically, there were an incredible number of obstacles for Hoover to overcome. Before work on the Hoover Dam could start, he first had to help settle a 25 year water allocation controversy between the representatives of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. On November 24, 1922, these states signed the Colorado River Compact, settling this old conflict. The Boulder Canyon Project Act, which authorized the construction of Hoover Dam, was enacted on December 21, 1928.

As President, Herbert Hoover continued his involvement settling some of the engineering problems, water and power allocation rights and even securing the revenue contracts required by congress. Victimized by the circumstances of his times and his own actions Hoover left the presidency as a less than popular figure. However, no one can deny that Herbert Hoovers' greatest achievement was the engineering, organizational and political skills that he showed, to bring about the construction of Hoover Dam.

The role played by the Bureau of Reclamation
In the 20th century, it was the policy of the Bureau of Reclamation to insure that every available drop of water from the various streams and rivers in the dry southwest United States was made available for either municipal, agricultural or industrial use. To this end, Hoover Dam and the dams which followed it, are very successful. Currently the lower Colorado river provides water to irrigate over 1,000,000 acres in the United States and 500, 000 acres in Mexico. Hoover Dam is the center piece to a water conservation and delivery system which provides water to over 22,000,000 people in Arizona, California and Nevada.

Hoover Dam is One of the Most Successful Public Works Projects Ever
If judged by the many benefits it provides, Hoover Dam is without doubt one of the most successful projects ever carried out by this or any other nation. The electrical power provided by Hoover Dam goes to Southern California, 56%, Arizona, 19%, and Nevada, which gets 25% of the allocation.

A by product of Hoover Dam is the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Lake Mead provides year round recreational opportunities. Fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, camping and sight seeing are among the activities which draw 7 to 8 million visitors a year to Lake Mead.