Colorado River:
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, straddling the Nevada-Arizona border on the Colorado River, is one of America’s greatest engineering achievements. Built during the Great Depression, it provided thousands of jobs and transformed the Southwest by supplying water, hydroelectric power, and flood control. The project was led by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation under the Department of the Interior, whose mission is to manage and protect the nation’s water resources.
Completed in 1935, Hoover Dam created Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S. by volume. Its construction involved monumental efforts—diverting the river, pouring massive amounts of concrete, and employing daring high scalers to work on sheer canyon walls. The dam supplies water to millions across several states and generates enough electricity to power over a million homes.
The dam’s impact goes beyond engineering. It reshaped ecosystems, enabled the growth of cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix, and became a symbol of American resilience and ingenuity. Topics related to Hoover Dam include its design, workforce, environmental impact, political controversy over its name, and its ongoing role in water management and recreation in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Hoover Dam is a project of the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior. Reclamation's mission is to manage, develop and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner for the benefit of the American public.
These pages have been prepared to provide background information about Hoover Dam and the surrounding area in order to provide an understanding of Hoover Dam's impact on the environment, and it's technical and historical significance for the United States.
Source - U.S. Department of the Interior - Bureau of Reclamation
Fauna & Flora
Water Resources
Hydroelectricity
Facts
Frequently Asked Questions Building the Hoover Dam
- Coffer Dams
- High Scalers
- Concrete
- Jet Flow Gate Testing
- Spillways
- Tunnels
- Wages
- Work Force
- Fatalities
- Biggest Dam
Colorado River