In April 1998, we went to the Hoover Dam, near Las Vegas, Nevada USA.
Where is the Hoover Dam?
"Click" here for a map!
Click on the pictures below if you want a larger image.
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When you arrive, you can park on the Nevada side in the parking garage. it will cost you a few
dollars. The Arizona side is free but has limited parking.
You get a good view of the dam from the upper parking level.
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An elevator will take you down to the underground section of the visitors center.
There are movies and displays documenting the construction of the Hoover dam. This is also where the
tour begins.
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114 men and one dog lost their lives while working on the dam. Contrary to popular
belief, no one was buried in the concrete of Hoover dam.
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"Antelope Ground Squirrels" make their home on the well protected, rubble covered slopes, and quickly accept a snack if offered.
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Huge towers behind the visitors center bring the high voltage cables up out of the canyon.
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The road (US-93) goes right over the dam! A very nice drive, and quite busy. It costs nothing to drive over the dam.
They are considering building a bypass around the dam, but right now it's just a study.
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It's difficult to show the immense size of the dam,
but a good view is obtained from the visitors center.
It's a long way down...
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On the lake side of the dam,
water enters the intake towers on its way to the turbine generators, which are housed hundreds of feet below the water level at the bottom of the dam.
The generators generate electricity, the water is then discharged into the river.
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If the water level rises too high, the emergency overflow will direct the excess water around the dam
and discharge it at the bottom on the other side.
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On the river side of the dam, there are numerous maintenance and emergency water discharge ports.
You can see them from the top of the dam, quite a spectacular sight!
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There are many choice locations to get a good view of the dam.
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This dam has everything, the restrooms are built into its structure!
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There are many tunnels blasted into the rock cliffs.
The volcanic rock is porous and of course very old. Once exposed, trapped minerals leach from the surface.
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Some of the maintenance and inspection passages built into the dam are open for public tour, but they're not pretty...
You have to take the 'hard hat' tour to traverse them.
UPDATE: The 'hard hat' tour has been discontinued indefinitely due to security concerns.
These passages are no longer open to the public.
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Looking UP from one of the air vents in the face of the dam, you realize how far you've gone.
And this is only half way, it's just as far DOWN...
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Passages built into the dam for public and dignitary visitation are very nicely constructed with fine tile and lighting.
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Once you get to the bottom, you can appreciate how big it really is!
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Just how big is this access tunnel? It's BIG! The tunnel provides access for maintenance and inspection of the emergency discharge piping.
This tunnel is where they installed the penstock (pipe) sections, they are almost the same diameter as this tunnel.
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There's an old turbine on display in Boulder City, near the dam. Water flowing through the dam spins the turbine,
which in turn spins an electrical generator. Enough electricity is produced by Hoover dam to light over one million homes.
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