Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam ({{coor dms|36|0|56|N|114|44|16|W|}}) is a concrete gravity-arch dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between Arizona and Nevada. The dam, located 48 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of Las Vegas, is named after Herbert Hoover, who played an instrumental role in its construction, first as Secretary of Commerce and then later as President of the United States. Hoover Dam was built by Six Companies, Inc., under Frank Crowe. Construction began in 1931 and was completed in 1936, over two years ahead of schedule. The dam is operated by the Bureau of Reclamation of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, Hoover Dam was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.

Statistics

• Construction period: April 20, 1931 - March 1, 1936
• Construction cost: $49 million ($676 million adjusted for inflation)
• Dam height: 726.4 ft (221.4 m), 2nd highest dam in the United States.
• Dam thickness: 660 ft (200 m) at its base; 45 ft (15 m) thick at its crest.
• Concrete: 4.36 million yd³ (3.33 million m³)
• Traffic across the dam: 13,000 to 16,000 people each day, according to the Federal Highway Administration
• Lake Mead statistics
• area: 157,900 acres (639 km²), backing up 110 miles (177 km) behind the dam.
• volume: 28,537,000 acre feet (35.200 km³) at an elevation of 1,221.4 feet (372.3 m) .
• With 8 to 10 million visitors each year, including visitors to Hoover Dam but not all traffic across the dam, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area is the 5th busiest U.S. national park.