Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam by Ansel Adams, 1941
Official name	Hoover Dam
Location	Clark County, Nevada / Mohave County, Arizona, U.S.
Purpose	Power, flood control, water storage, regulation, recreation
Status	Operational
Construction began	1931
Opening date	1936 (88 years ago) (1936)
Construction cost	$49 million (1931 budget) ($684 million in 2020 dollars[1])
Owner(s)	United States Government
Operator(s)	U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Concrete gravity-arch
Impounds	Colorado River
Height	726.4 ft (221.4 m)
Length	1,244 ft (379 m)
Elevation at crest	1,232 ft (376 m)
Width (crest)	45 ft (14 m)
Width (base)	660 ft (200 m)
Dam volume	3,250,000 cu yd (2,480,000 m3)
Spillway type	2 controlled Drum-Gate, Side channel
Spillway capacity	400,000 cu ft/s (11,000 m3/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Lake Mead
Total capacity	28,537,000 acre⋅ft (35.200 km3)
Active capacity	15,853,000 acre⋅ft (19.554 km3)
Inactive capacity	10,024,000 acre⋅ft (12.364 km3)
Catchment area	167,800 sq mi (435,000 km2)
Surface area	247 sq mi (640 km2)
Maximum length	112 mi (180 km)
Maximum water depth	590 ft (180 m)
Normal elevation	1,219 ft (372 m)
Power Station
Operator(s)	U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Commission date	1936–1960
Hydraulic head	590 ft (180 m) (Max)
Turbines	13× 130 MW 2× 127 MW 1× 68.5 MW 1× 61.5 MW Francis-type 2× 2.4 MW Pelton-type
Installed capacity	2,080 MW
Capacity factor	23%
Annual generation	4.2 TWh (15 PJ)
Website Bureau of Reclamation: Lower Colorado Region - Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Show map of USA West Show map of the United States
Nearest city	Boulder City, Nevada
Coordinates	36°0′56″N 114°44′16″W / 36.01556°N 114.73778°W / 36.01556; -114.73778
Built	1933
Architect	Six Companies, Inc. (structural), Gordon Kaufmann (exteriors)
Architectural style	Art Deco
MPS	Vehicular Bridges in Arizona MPS (AD)
NRHP reference No.	81000382
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 8, 1981
Designated NHL	August 20, 1985

The Hoover Dam is a large dam on the Colorado River. It is on the border of the states of Arizona and Nevada. The reservoir it made is called Lake Mead. The dam is named after the former US President Herbert Hoover. At first it was called "Boulder Dam", but the name was changed to honor Hoover, who was president when the idea of building the dam started.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hoover Dam.

• Hoover Dam's official website Archived 2003-06-22 at the Wayback Machine
• Official State of Nevada Tourism Site
• Hoover Dam: Lonely Lands Made Fruitful Archived 2011-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
• BBC - Hoover Dam, industrial and social history Archived 2007-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
• Hoover Dam page
• Dams of the Lower Colorado River - Hoover Dam Archived 2006-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
• "Boulder Dam" – Part I and Parts III and IV, documentary films from the Prelinger Archives at the Internet Archive.
• Construction of diversion tunnel #4 and spillway tunnel which drops sharply to enter diversion tunnel^{[permanent dead link]}
• PBS American experience - Hoover Dam Archived 2009-09-06 at the Wayback Machine

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