It impounds Lake Mead, which extends for 115 miles (185 km) upstream and is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. If you had to decide how much of the river's water each state could have, what factors might you consider? Gunderson: We have installed vehicle checkpoints; one on the Nevada side, and one on the Arizona side. What benefits would a new dam provide? 2. Most of the water in the Colorado comes from melting snow in the Upper Colorado Basin. Assorted steam shovels, etc.you'll have to move about 6 million cubic yards of rock and dirt, digging tunnels and whittling out the canyon walls to make room for the dam. In 1938, a New York publisher put out an illustrated cartoon guide for tourists visiting Hoover Dam, then known as Boulder Dam. When youve got em ready, dump a bunch of rock and dirt in the river, just below the upper end of the tunnels to block off the river. Reclamations engineers were looking forward to designing the huge dam. More water equals more pressure, which equals more energy. Access to the Visitor Center is most convenient from the parking garage on the Nevada side of the dam. They paid for all supplies and inspected the contractors work. State laws prohibited using them in enclosed spaces like tunnels for health and safety reasons, but Six Companies used the jumbos anyway. This makes suicide the tenth leading cause of death, with a rate of 12.4 per 100,000 population. Questions for Map 1. Your guess is as good as mine whether well get that. Which job would be most important? 1. Roosevelts speech was front-page news in newspapers all over the country. Things look pretty grim. This PBS miniseries, hosted by author David Macaulay, describes the engineering challenges encountered in building large dams, bridges, domes, skyscrapers, and tunnels in clear, easily understood, and kid-friendly terms and visuals. The maps and images appear twice: in a small version with associated questions and alone in a larger version. Standard G - The student describes and analyzes the role of technology in communications, transportation, information-processing, weapons development, and other areas as it contributes to or helps resolve conflicts. It supplies water to irrigation projects in California and Arizona. Why or why not? Had the formidable white arc of the Hoover dam never held back the Colorado River, the US west would probably have no Los Angeles or Las Vegas as we know them today. The price of Boulder Dam during the depression years provided [work] for 4,000 men, most of them heads of families, and many thousands more were enabled to earn a livelihood through manufacture of materials and machinery. Which states are they? In a whole class discussion, compare and contrast the ancient and modern wonders. Standard C - The student locates, accesses, analyzes, organizes, and applies information about selected public issues--recognizing and explaining multiple points of view. Located in Pyramid Canyon about 70 miles downstream from Hoover Dam, this zoned earth-fill dam consists of concrete . What were some of the concerns people had about its construction? He spends two days each week at the Hoover in meetings to discuss how to improve security functions. 1. In the early 21st century, almost a million people still come to visit the huge dam every year. 5) To describe the impact Hoover Dam had on the Southwest and the nation and to explore some of its long-term implications. dwindled by 20% compared to the previous centurys average, heat dome that settled over the usually mild Pacific north-west. "The upper basin states on the Colorado River Wyoming, Colorado New Mexico, and Utah were . The dam had to be big. Standard D - The student identifies and uses processes important to reconstructing and reinterpreting the past, such as using a variety of sources, providing, validating, and weighing evidence for claims, checking credibility of sources, and searching for causality. (We forgot to say that youll have to string some cables and pulleys across the canyon to let stuff down to bottom. Where does it end? The latest era of cooperation between states that rely upon the Colorado River has now entered the realm of lose-lose, according to Colby Pellegrino, deputy general manager of resources for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Why or why not? Access control Brent Gunderson, regional security manager of the lower Colorado river region, worked at the Hoover Dam for four years and managed the police force. Then ask the students to come up with their own list of "Wonders of the United States." In February 1942, a soldier stationed at a training camp in Louisiana wrote the following letter to the New York Times: The Regimental Intelligence, Platoon of the 114th Infantry, Forty-Fourth Division, recently reviewed the merits of the Seven Wonders of the World. Oversized vehicles, recreational vehicles, and vehicles with trailers must use the parking lots on the Arizona side of the dam. If the states did not agree with what you recommended, who do you think should have the right to make a final decision? Under Presidential Directive 12, employee and contractor identities and suitability must be confirmed through background checks. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. The canals and aqueduct in California receive water from the Colorado. 4. Contrary to popular myth, no workers were buried alive in the dam's concrete as it was poured. 4. Boulder Dam and the powerhouses together cost a total of $108,000,000. What role might the federal government be able to play in making decisions like this? The white bathtub ring around Lake Mead shows the record low water levels as drought continues to worsen in Nevada. No sprawling food bowl of wheat, alfalfa and corn. Standard C - The student describes the various forms institutions take and the interactions of people with institutions. By this time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, had been elected president. It held back what was then, and still is, the largest man-made lake in the United States. There are two places where the river forms the boundary between two states. 5. It is just a bridge to a driver. There is a fee for parking. They are then inspected and allowed to pass. Standard 1BThe student demonstrates how American life changed during the depression years. Even with these adaptions, however, the decline of Lake Mead has caused the amount of hydro power generated by the dam to drop by around 25%. Hoover Dam PBS Film Those managing dam security are bound by a host of government regulations and security standards including Homeland Security Presidential Directives and regulations and standards enforced by the North American Electrical Reliability Council (NERC). It claimed the lives of 96 of the 21,000 men who worked on it. Here are some guidelines to help you on your way: Each block was five feet high. The proposed dam would be so tall and the pressure of the water it held back so great that many people were worried. For many Americans, Hoover Dam also came to be a powerful symbol of what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. We inspect all "closed" vehicles, large trucks, buses and RVs 100 percent of the time. Summer temperatures in the canyon can easily reach 125 degrees. Why do you think Six Companies was so anxious to get this part of the project done quickly? Work on the dam began sooner than originally planned. Which job would have been the most dangerous? We came back up from Laughlin so we could stop at the dam. We all want the nice weather but we need those good storms to build everything back up, he said. We inspect vehicles, whether full or empty. Why do you think he used the old name in his speech? You have to climb 70 steps to get to it so be ready. 4. Why? The heat has been otherworldly, with Phoenix recently enduring a record six straight days above 115F (46.1C). Do you think anybody today would suggest that no one might notice if you flooded one of them? Build a platform so spectators can watch, and dig down about 130 feet from the river bed to bed rock, removing all loose material as you go. Inside the Arizona powerhouse are nine massive generators. This website includes links to a number of documents, including a short history of Reclamation, a longer, book-length history of the years before 1945, and a study of large Federal dams, including Hoover. For millions of people in the 1930s, including those who would never visit it, Hoover Dam came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could do, even in the depths of the Great Depression. ScalingAfter standing out in the weather so long, canyon walls become soft and decayed on the surface. We also now prohibit commercial traffic access across the dam, with the exception of some local businesses. It includes historic footage of Hoover Dam under construction, including the high scalers in action and the concrete being poured into the forms. At Boulder Dam they had to get the electricity from Los Angeles to build the dam which now sends electricity back to Los Angeles. The lake it created would be the largest in the world. The Hoover Dam is an impressive sight to see. The availability of water stored behind Hoover Dam and the power produced by that water played a critical role in the growth of the American Southwest in the mid-20th century, but the demand for more water and electricity soon outstripped what this one dam could provide. First, a minor point. The compact estimated that the rivers annual flow would be 16.5 million acre-feet, allocated 7.5 million acre-feet each to the Upper Basin and the Lower Basin, and set the amount of water each of the states in the Lower Basin would receive. What benefits would controlling it provide and to whom? Hoover Dam did, and continues to do, all the things its supporters hoped it would. Would Hoover Dam be on their list? Where does it start? Building such a mammoth structure presented unprecedented challenges to the engineers of the Bureau of Reclamation. The Visitor Center is open every day of the year except for Thanksgiving and Christmas days. There are many canyons on the river, some almost as dramatic as the Grand Canyon, located just upstream from Hoover Dam's reservoir. The dam contains enough concrete to pave a strip 16 feet wide and 8 inches thick from San Francisco to New York City. Why do you think Reclamations engineers were excited about building the big dam? It also includes images showing the installation of the last turbine in the power plant and the benefits provided by the dam. At the other end of the tunnels build another cofferdam to keep the water from backing up, pump the puddles out from between, and there you have ita dry spot in the river, with the stream running right around it, through the tunnels. Nearly 40 million people, including dozens of tribes, depend on the rivers water. The engineering might of Hoover dam undoubtably reshaped Americas story, harnessing a raucous river to help carve huge cities and vast fields of crops into unforgiving terrain. Intake towers and power house.Build four intake towers on the upstream side of the dam, being sure that the top of em is above the high water line. Some marinas have been wrenched from their moorings and moved because they have been left marooned in baking sediment. This will cause the mass to cool and shrink quickly. We were waved by. Standard E - The student locates and describes varying land forms and geographic features, such as mountains, plateaus, islands, rain forests, deserts, and oceans, and explains their relationships within the ecosystem. What would have been the minuses? All these dimensions are superlative. The past two years have been shocking to me, I never thought I would see downtown LA reach 111F as its so close to the ocean, but we have some of the driest conditions in 1,200 years so the dice are loaded for more heatwaves and fires. It was one of the most ambitious projects of the early 20th century, requiring millions of cubic feet of concrete and tens. Today marks the official completion and dedication of Boulder Dam. No sprawling food bowl of wheat, alfalfa and corn. The New Deal was famous for using public works projects to put Americans back to work. Unpredictable flash floods could occur in any season. In March 1931, Reclamation awarded the contract to build the dam to Six Companies, Inc. Six Companies was a group of some of the largest construction companies in the country. They represent and embody the accumulated engineering knowledge and experience of centuries; and when we behold them it is fitting that we pay tribute to the genius of their designers. What do you think working here would be like? The Hoover Dam: Fast Facts. We have helped mankind by the works themselves and, at the same time, we have created the necessary purchasing power to throw in the clutch to start the wheels of what we call private industry. 6. 1. 1. The wellspring of Lake Mead created by the dams blocking of the Colorado River has plummeted to a historic low as states in the west face hefty cuts in their water supplies. How many steam shovels can you count? Why do you think the detailed drawings were necessary? The area is also prone to cloudbursts, high winds, and sudden floods. #5 - Washington DC - there's so much to experience in our nation's Capital - discover history, art, nightlife and so many more treasures that make America great. Why do you think there are so many now? 4 Visitors with prohibited items will be turned away at the Nevada Security Checkpoint. Why do you think it was so important to do that before starting work on the dam structure itself? Today we translate them into a great national possession. Bureau of Reclamation History Davis Dam. 4) To identify some of the factors contributing to public perceptions of Hoover Dam and its construction. 1) One map showing the Colorado River Basin; The U.S. Reclamation Service, renamed the Bureau of Reclamation in 1923, was created to design and build these systems. In 1924, Reclamation reported that 143,000 people lived on the agency's 24 irrigation projects and that farm earnings for that year totaled $70 million. How did Reclamation and Six Companies divide the work on the dam? Activity 4: Public Works in the Local Community The Colorado River rises in the lofty Rocky Mountains, before tumbling through 1,450 miles of mountains, canyons and deserts until it reaches the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. Hoover Dam was the first man-made structure to exceed the masonry mass of the Great Pyramid of Giza. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. The bridge is located high in the mountains above the dam. Ultimate Hoover Dam Tour from Las Vegas With Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Complete with startling statistics Answer (1 of 5): I have no specific knowledge on this topic but that's doesn't stop the President of the United States, so I'll go ahead and give you an opinion that's hopefully not useless. Once we got on the other side the traffic was stopped trying to get down in there. Pipe for ice water581 miles of it will do. The first of these great multipurpose projects would be a huge dam on the lower Colorado River. My husband had a small penknife in his pocket. A few hundred miles north, a fast-moving wildfire incinerated the town of Lytton in British Columbia the day after it set a Canadian temperature record of 121F (49.4C). This PBS production provides materials for teachers, in addition to a history of the dam and some of the people involved in its creation. Our choices were based on those which were obvious, from the list of the ancient world wonders, massive, man-made, and enduring. Why do you think the engineers thought they had to keep this from happening? During an average summer, more than 100 engineers and electricians would work on the Hoover Dam. The river, and dam, made the west; now the climate crisis threatens to break it. The dams, particularly the Hoover Dam, were also intended to control the torrential floods that would come downstream in big water years. 2. Why do you think that might have been the case? Once the bypass is completed, the road atop the dam will no longer be a direct route between Nevada and Arizona. It is awesome! The inspection can result in some traffic/delay in getting there, so account for that in your planning. 3) Two documents, a "Short Course in Engineering" and selections from President Roosevelt's speech at the dedication of Hoover Dam in 1935; This morning I came, I saw and I was conquered, as everyone would be who sees for the first time this great feat of mankind. Standard B - The student analyzes group and institutional influences on people, events, and elements of culture. Private businesses may have built some of the dams, power plants, or other such facilities, but they do not fit the definition of "public works" given here. Ask each group to select a job and do some research on it. The use of materials makes wealth. Each spillway, designed to let floodwaters pass without harming the dam itself, can handle the volume of water that flows over Niagara Falls. Plate steel for making pipes88 million poundswhen you get into pipe 30 feet in diameter, you have to make your own. LESSON NO. They joined specifically for this project. 1 Ask students to investigate how the places supplied by Hoover Dam have grown since 1935. "There's a lot of unique things about Hoover Dam that only apply to Hoover Dam, so it . Very nice to visit; and see the dam in person. Before the building of Hoover Dam, the Colorado River was dangerous and unreliable. In June, the level of Lake Mead plunged below 1,075ft, a point that will trigger, for the first time, federally mandated cuts in water allocations next year. 3. The spillways at Hoover Dam are only used when the water in the reservoir is so high that it would otherwise overflow the top of the dam. The left side shows what a visitor looking upstream at the dam would actually see. Standard B - The student describes the purpose of the government and how its powers are acquired, used, and justified. LESSON NO. What might people "miss" about these canyons if they were filled with water? We know, too, that the reason for this speeding up was the need of giving relief to several million men and women whose earning capacity had been destroyed by the complexities and lack of thought of the economic system of the past generation. Check the Hoover Dam website for more detailed information, including seasonal hours of operation. Take NV SR 172 for about 2 miles to the dam. Ask them to look up the construction dates for the other Colorado River dams shown on Map 1, as well as the purpose/benefits for which they were built. Why did many people think something needed to be done to control the Colorado River? As it dries and cools, it shrinks and thats what causes the cracks. When the contracts were signed, almost two thirds of the electricity went to Southern California. Tickets for tours of the dam and the power plant are available at the Visitor Center. Why was this work necessary? We know that, as an unregulated river, the Colorado added little of value to the region this dam serves. Getting money in local budgets to keep them updated or even maintained is often difficult. Melting snow in the mountains caused damaging floods during the late spring and early summer. Death by suicide is never a pleasant topic. Which states are within the Basin? Actually, once we got thru the checkpoint, we drove to the visitor center, where we parked in a garage ($10, cash only), and then we walked across the actual dam my kids were excited about walking from Nevada to Arizona and back again. then, once we returned to our car, we stopped at the bridge. Next, the new improved security. Questions for Reading 1 By this time, they were among the most knowledgeable and experienced dam builders in the world, but even they had never done anything this big. By 1933, the date of this photo, Six Companies had built a lookout on the top of the canyon for tourists coming to the site. Only a huge dam could stand up to the pressure of so much water. At capacity (1,221.4 feet above sea level), the lake is the nation's largest reservoir, able to contain 28.9 million acre-feet of water covering about 248 square miles. Why or why not? The Bureau of Reclamation (the government agency originally tasked with reclaiming this arid place for a new utopia of farmland and a booming western population), expects this historic low to spiral further, dropping to about 1,048ft by the end of 2022, a shallowness unprecedented since Lake Mead started filling up in the 1930s following Hoover dams completion. "Cars are searched on a random basis or if there is a reasonable suspicion," he said. At the checkpoints U-Haul-type vehicles are allowed after a search is conducted, while semi-trailer trucks, buses carrying luggage, and enclosed-box trucks are prohibited from crossing the road atop the dam (That traffic is diverted south to a Colorado River bridge at Laughlin, Nevada). The following activities will help students build on what they have learned. Its base is as thick as two football fields are long. Then ask students to research the amount of water that the Colorado River Compact allocated to each state in the Lower Basin. Look carefully at the cut-away view. Then, we walked up the bridge to see the dam. Reclamation engineers prepared hundreds of drawings for the construction companyall much more detailed than this simplified illustration. Do you think the safety equipment would have kept the men from falling? It is just 37% full,. And this picture is true on different scales in regard to the thousands of projects undertaken by the Federal Government, by the States and by the counties and municipalities in recent years. Standard H - The student works independently and cooperatively to accomplish goals. All other commercial trafficspecifically, the large semis and busesare not allowed to cross and are turned around at the checkpoints. Why do you think the construction company was willing to spend the money to build the lookout? The decline of Lake Mead is apparent even at a cursory glance. How do these dates relate to the growth statistics the students have collected? 4. LESSON NO. The Greatest Dam in the World: Building Hoover Dam relates to the following Social Studies Standards: Standard B - The student identifies and uses key concepts such as chronology, causality, change, conflict, and complexity to explain, analyze, and show connections among patterns of historical change and continuity. It is just another bridge even though the engineering that went into it was amazing. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. (Bureau of Reclamation; Ben Glaha, photographer). (The pipes are still there, buried in the concrete.) There is a charge for the tours, in addition to an admission charge for the Visitor Center. (National Council for the Social Studies). 3) To explain the steps in the construction process and their dangers. On the drive out there is a free carpark halfway up the road you can park . Pouring the dam.Take cement, rock and sandmix welladd waterpour into canyon. Ice plantyouve got to have a plant capable of turning out about 2 million pounds of ice a day. Copyright 2023 IDG Communications, Inc. CSO provides news, analysis and research on security and risk management, How 9-11 Shaped Hoover Dam Security Operations, Sponsored item title goes here as designed, The 10 most powerful cybersecurity companies, 7 hot cybersecurity trends (and 2 going cold), The Apache Log4j vulnerabilities: A timeline, Using the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to address organizational risk, 11 penetration testing tools the pros use. Measure your classroom and figure out how many cubic yards it could hold. The new bypass takes you right over it without and option to park and visit. It prevents disastrous floods. Have students list as many kinds of work as they can based on the readings and the images. The association added that such a scenario could even force people to move east, in what it called a reverse Dust Bowl exodus. But scientists have made clear the current conditions would be virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, pointing to a longer-term aridification of the region. Time period: Early to mid 20th century. Is there a security background check? According to Webster's Dictionary, "public works" are construction projects, such as water treatment plants, power plants, flood control systems, and highways and transportation networks that are built by the government for the public. Many newspapers and magazines featured descriptions and images of the "high scalers." There are eight generators inside the Nevada . In the information security field, 10 years seems a much longer time. 5) Seven historic photos. Parking is limited there, so you may have to orbit the parking lot a bit for a spot. Hoover Dam is one of its Wonders of the World. The website also includes an educators' guide, with hands-on activities. The Hoover Dam is one of the crown jewels of American infrastructure. Hoover Dam: Hoover Dam tour ruined by Dam security! 1. Geologic Formations, National Parks, State Parks, Nature & Wildlife Areas, Canyons, Points of Interest & Landmarks, Historic Walking Areas, Observation Decks & Towers, Points of Interest & Landmarks, Fountains, Points of Interest & Landmarks. For power generators, there will always be a need to have people on-site. The Story of Hoover Dam Film The dam is 660 feet thick at the base and tapers to 45 feet thick at the top. Seasonally melting snow has traditionally replenished the river but snowpack on mountaintops in the west has declined by an average of 19% since the 1950s, while soaring temperatures have dried out soils and caused more water to evaporate. Repeat as necessary. The bridge was completed in 2010 and there are many descriptions about the building of the bridge so its good for any kids with an architecture and/or civil engineering interest. If cracks were to appear in your dam it might cause severe criticism from people living below the damor from their heirs. Initially the agency built some relatively small dams on the rivers tributaries. The total capacity at Hoover is now 1,617 megawattsa 20 percent decrease from its designed capacity of 2,080 megawatts. The huge dam on the Colorado captured the imagination of journalists, authors, and filmmakers. You can take one of themno one will miss itmaybe. Standard H - The student analyzes the effectiveness of selected public policies and citizen behaviors in realizing the stated ideals of a democratic republican form of government. Continue on US 93 for about 5 miles to the turn-off to Nevada State Route 172the Hoover Dam Access Road. Simply drill four tunnels about miles through the cliffs above the water line. The traditional and hard-hat tours were discontinued, and we now have more "top of dam" free tours with limited tour access into the dam itself. Simple? It is 726 feet high from the lowest point of the foundation to the crest. Hoover and other major dams, along with nuclear power plants, are among sites where, authorities say, a terrorist act could be so catastrophic that the new security steps should remain in place. The geographic area drained by a river and its tributaries is called a "basin." No go. Even if you dont go inside the dam with a full tour, you should consider stopping here. Most of the states were afraid California was going to get more than its fair share of the water. 1942, 18; Historical New York Times Database, accessed 9/20/2011. BOULDER CITY, Nev. (KLAS) A fire Tuesday at the Hoover Dam has made headlines around the world, but the fire did not actually happen on or inside the dam. Which are in the Upper Basin and which are in the Lower Basin? Everything looks small. They saw the dam as a potential source of water and hydroelectric power for homes, businesses, and factories.