The Hoover Dam Intake Towers
The intake towers at Hoover Dam are also huge. There are two on each side of the
dam, 2 in Arizona and 2 in Nevada. In this view we see
both sets of intake towers from the Arizona side. Note that these photos
 were
shot in April 1999 when the water level is at almost maximum level.
In the center, above the rim of the dam, is the Visitors Center. Further
in the background is the covered parking.
To get a really good perspective on everything at Hoover Dam, at least
from the outside, a round trip from the covered
parking to the Arizona side is a good idea. This way both the front side
of the
dam and the Colorado River with the power plants far below and the Lake
Mead side can be seen and photographed.
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This picture is of the intake towers as seen from the Nevada side of
Hoover Dam.
At certain times of the year, you would be looking at 2 different time
zones, Pacific, which is the time in Nevada and Mountain which is the
time zone for Arizona. Arizona does not set its clocks to daylight
savings time.
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For part of the
year, in the summer, Arizona and Nevada are on the same time. It is good
to remember
this as step across the time zones and state lines in the of Hoover Dam.
If you are coming from the east through to Las Vegas or somewhere else
in Southern Nevada you will gain an hour, but only in the summer or
daylight savings months.
This little detail has messed up timing on travel plans for a long time.
Thus very poignantly, there are clocks on the intake towers on each
side.
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If
there is to be a bright side to the effects of the current drought, it is in
revealing more of the intake towers than we are usually able to see.
Not since the time that Lake Mead began to fill up has so much of the intake
towers been exposed to view. In the photos taken above in April 1999, you see
the water levels as close to the top as they can get.
This photo taken August 30, 2004 show the dam when the water level is 85 feet
below the point in the photos. |
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