Magnificent, Eye-pleasing Hoover Dam!
We just visited Hoover Dam in New Vegas, South West USA and were truly astounded. It is a huge, magnificent and eye – pleasing structure.
In the Black Canyon, between the
border of U.S. States of Nevada and Arizona lies the Colorado river; on which
is built the concrete arch-gravity Hoover Dam! It is the highest arch-gravity, concrete dam in
the United States,
constructed during 1930-36.
Hoover Dam is named after Herbert
Hoover, the U.S. president during
1929-33, in whose administration, the dam construction began. This work
provided employment to thousands of workers, in the era of economic depression.
It was initially named as Boulder Dam; later in 1947, it was formally named as
Hoover dam.
What impressed me most was that this dam
is very much visitor – friendly. It is clean, with pleasant environment, potable
water, wash rooms, sitting arrangement and a restaurant. It also houses a
memento shop, from where one can buy mementoes to carry back memories. In the
outer lounge, the history of the dam and its construction is depicted, with the
help of pictures, videos and sculptors. There is a very interesting working
model, which helps one to easily understand the importance of water, how the
dam works, how water can be saved and which human activities are responsible
for wastage of water. Besides, one can visit all chambers and observe the
working of turbines, gates, generation of hydro-electric power; There are
galleries to see the birds' eye view of the whole infrastructure! It is a
wonderful experience, all in all.
We also visited Lake Mead, which is the dam’s reservoir. It's reservoir back water lake, Lake Mead, extending 185 km upstream is one of the world’s largest artificial lakes. It lies 40 km east of Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. It is 1.6 to 16 km wide, with a capacity of 38,296,200,000 cubic meters, has 885 km of shoreline and a surface area of 593 square km. It's name was taken after Elwood Mead, the then commissioner of reclamation (1924–36).
Lake Mead is a source of drinking
water for around 25 million people. Since 1999, drought and increasing population has
resulted in a drop in lake levels. In 2022, the water levels reached a
historic low, and the reservoir’s low-level pumps, were turned on for the first
time. It has always come to help. in times of need!
This dam is
used for flood and silt control, generation of hydroelectric
power, agricultural irrigation,
and domestic water supply.
It is also a major sightseeing destination, with some seven million visitors a
year, almost one million going on tours through the dam.
The
magnificent Hoover Dam, which was constructed 85 years ago, still stands
strong, serving the purpose for which it was built!
There
are a few features which are very significant about this dam. During its
construction, an entire city was created specially for the convenience of the
people working on the dam. This dam boasts being America's largest water
reservoir. It is one of the the Earth's tallest dam. It is the America’s second
- highest bridge which reroutes all traffic, which is quite heavy, from the top
of the dam.
Visitor
- friendly, clean, majestic, it is a must visit site, for those who travel
through this part of USA.
Green Blogger
Prof. Dr. Jaya Kurhekar
