![]() ![]() ![]() In the following years, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), known as the Reclamation Service at the time, also considered the Lower Colorado as the site for a dam. Edison allowed land options it held on the river to lapse-including an option for what became the site of Hoover Dam. However, at the time, the limit of transmission of electric power was 80 miles (130 km), and there were few customers (mostly mines) within that limit. In 1902, the Edison Electric Company of Los Angeles surveyed the river in the hope of building a 40-foot (12 m) rock dam which could generate 10,000 horsepower (7,500 kW). Īs the technology of electric power transmission improved, the Lower Colorado was considered for its hydroelectric-power potential. Even after the waterway was stabilized, it proved unsatisfactory because of constant disputes with landowners on the Mexican side of the border. After a catastrophic breach that caused the Colorado River to fill the Salton Sea, the Southern Pacific Railroad spent $3 million in 1906–07 to stabilize the waterway, an amount it hoped in vain would be reimbursed by the federal government. Though water from the Imperial Canal allowed for the widespread settlement of the valley, the canal proved expensive to operate. An initial attempt at diverting the river for irrigation purposes occurred in the late 1890s, when land speculator William Beatty built the Alamo Canal just north of the Mexican border the canal dipped into Mexico before running to a desolate area Beatty named the Imperial Valley. 1904Īs the United States developed the Southwest, the Colorado River was seen as a potential source of irrigation water. Route 93 (US 93) ran along the dam's crest until October 2010, when the Hoover Dam Bypass opened.īackground Search for resources River view of the future dam site, c. Hoover Dam is a major tourist attraction, with 7 million tourists a year. ![]() The dam's generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California. The dam is located near Boulder City, Nevada, a municipality originally constructed for workers on the construction project, about 30 mi (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States by volume when full. Nevertheless, Six Companies turned the dam over to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule. The torrid summer weather and lack of facilities near the site also presented difficulties. Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, and some of the techniques were unproven. ![]() The winning bid to build the dam was submitted by a consortium named Six Companies, Inc., which began construction of the dam in early 1931. In 1928, Congress authorized the project. Since about 1900, the Black Canyon and nearby Boulder Canyon had been investigated for their potential to support a dam that would control floods, provide irrigation water and produce hydroelectric power. The Hoover Dam name was restored by Congress in 1947. It was referred to as the Hoover Dam after President Herbert Hoover in bills passed by Congress during its construction it was named the Boulder Dam by the Roosevelt administration. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over 100 lives. It was constructed between 19 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. (structural), Gordon Kaufmann (exteriors) Clark County, Nevada/ Mohave County, Arizona, U.S. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |