Hoover Dam
If you asked people to name a dam the most likely answer would the Hoover Dam. Although it is no longer the largest dam in the United States it is one of the most spectacular. This combined with its location near to Las Vegas has made the dam a popular tourist destination. Of course the Hoover Dam wasn't built to attract tourists, it also provides electricity to a large percentage of the population in the western United States
The Hoover Dam was built on the border between Nevada and Arizona during the nineteen thirties in order to dam the Colorado River. The project had several goals, the first being to resolve disputes between the western states over ware allocation, they all wanted to use the water from the Colorado River. The Hoover Dam is also one of the largest hydroelectric facilities in the country and provides power to many areas of the West. Lastly the Hoover Dam was built at the height of the depression as a way to create jobs. It has been very successful at all of these things which is a big part of the reason it has been ranked as one of the greatest construction projects of the twentieth century.
Construction on the Hoover Dam began in 1931 and was completed by 1936. Amazingly it was completed two years ahead of schedule and significantly under budget. In order for construction to start the Colorado River had to be diverted. This was accomplished by creating as series of tunnels that allowed the water to go around the area where the dam was to built. The dam itself is of the arch gravity type and is made mostly of concrete.
The completion of the Hoover Dam resulted in the formation of Lake Mead which is the largest reservoir in the United States. The water from the lake is used to power seventeen turbines which are what the generate the electricity for the dam. The Hoover Dam was originally built in a remote area however the city of Las Vegas has grown up around the dam. This has resulted in the dam becoming one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United States with well over a million people a year visiting it.
One of the reasons that the Hoover Dam is such a popular tourist attractions is the fact that it is the tallest concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere. The result is some spectacular views. There is a road that runs across the top of the dam which used to be heavily travelled when it was part of the highway. However in recent years security concerns have resulted in a bridge being built to bypass the dam. The views from the bridge are if anything even more spectacular which has helped to increase the popularity of the Hoover Dam as a tourist site even more.