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Hoover Dam….Or Is It Boulder Dam?

After touring around the Hoover Dam area and reading all the information kiosks we are wondering really why is it called the Hoover Dam? Much controversy over the years but it was originally called Boulder Dam.  Finally in 1947 the United States Congress passed a resolution naming it after the 31st president Herbert Hoover. The road over the top of the dam was the only route for traffic to follow until a new bridge was constructed in 2010. The bridge is named the Pat Tillman/Mike O’Callaghan Bridge with no controversy that we could see.  Pat gave up his career in the NFL playing with the Arizona Cardinals to go fight in Afghanistan where he was killed in action.  Mike was the Governor of Nevada for 8 years in the 70s. The engineering that went into this bridge is amazing.  We recommend you-tubing documentaries on the construction of both the Hoover Dam and the bridge.

A picture of the approach to the dam. That is Lake Mead in the background.
This picture was taken from the Tillman Bridge and shows the dammed up Colorado River behind one of the world’s largest dams. The shadow of the bridge makes for a nice pic.
Laurie has one foot in Arizona and the other in Nevada as she points to the plaque that describes the dam as one of the 7 engineering wonders of the world.
The demarcation line of white that you see records the highest water levels over the dam’s history. Only once, in the 1980s was the spillway used to prevent the water from flowing over the dam.
Here is a picture of the 2 hydro-electric plants at the damsite. Best we can tell, the dam was built for electricity generation but the fresh water in Lake Mead has allowed the cities of Vegas and all other southwest cities to thrive, also.
The Tillman Bridge taken from the Hoover Dam. Until the bridge’s completion the only way across the Colorado for miles was on the road over the top of the dam. This caused major traffic issues. Now the bridge takes the cars/trucks off the dam and lets them bypass the area quickly. This allows for a much more peaceful time touring the dam site.
The parking garage in the background did not let us pay $10 to park there as the scooter in the back “counted” as an extra gas can. I guess they don’t want any explosions in the area!
We are not sure if OSHA would approve of a plaque memorializing the 96 deaths that occurred while the dam was under construction.
This clock showed the official time in Nevada. During Daylight savings time the Nevada clock “springs ahead” to catch up with the Arizona clock even though they are in different time zones. Fascinating eh?
The official clock on the Arizona intake tower states the same time as the clock on the Nevada intake tower as we were there on the day Daylight Savings time ends.
Here is a shot from the rear of the dam. It shows the 4 water intake towers that feed the hydroelectric generators at the base of the dam.
A grand day was had by all at the Hoover Dam.

 

One Reply to “Hoover Dam….Or Is It Boulder Dam?”

  1. The dam is not in Boulder canyon, it is in Black Canyon. So I guess changing the name was a good thing:-)

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