The Hoover Dam

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Hoover Dam is the highest and 3rd largest concrete dam in the US, built and owned by the Bureau of Reclamation. states of Nevada and Arizona. Roosevelt.
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Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives. The dam was controversially named after President Herbert Hoover. The Visitor's Center is located at 81 Hoover Dam Access Rd, Boulder City, AZ 89005. Phone: (702) 494-2517

10/28/2026

⚠️Notice: Traffic across the top of Hoover Dam, including both vehicles and pedestrians, will be temporarily paused on Friday, October 30, from 7:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. for a short event. Tours and all other areas will remain open and unaffected.

10/09/2026

Today marks 90 years of power generation at Hoover Dam! ⚡🌃🎊

On October 9, 1936, Hoover Dam sent its first hydroelectric power 266 miles to Los Angeles, instantly easing the city’s energy shortages. That night, tens of thousands lined Broadway for a celebratory parade as streetlights and buildings glowed with new, reliable power. The dam’s electricity soon supported Southern California’s wartime manufacturing and postwar suburban growth, becoming a cornerstone of the New Deal’s vision for multipurpose water projects across the West.

📸: A group of visitors stand near one of the generators on the powerhouse floor, highlighting the massive scale of the machinery.

09/30/2026

Happy 91st Birthday, Hoover Dam! 🎂⚡💧

On September 30, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated what was then known as Boulder Dam. The dedication celebrated the completion of a record-breaking 726-foot structure that reshaped the American West and created Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir.

Although the dam was officially dedicated in 1935, hydropower generation did not begin right away. Engineers needed Lake Mead to rise high enough to create the hydraulic pressure required to operate the turbines.

On October 9, 1936, Hoover Dam generated its first power, marking the beginning of 90 years of hydropower production that continues today.

📸 1: Historic photograph of President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivering the dedication address at Hoover Dam.
📸 2: Aerial photo of the Hoover Dam site, featuring the dam, intake towers, memorial bridge and switchyard.

09/24/2026

Why is Hoover Dam built on such an enormous scale?

It all comes down to the sheer power of the Colorado River, and the significant elevation drop created by the dam’s design.

Hoover Dam sends water nearly 590 feet downward to its turbines, which produces extremely high pressure. To handle that force, engineers built 30 foot diameter penstocks made of steel nearly 3 inches thick. They were designed to carry over 200,000 cubic feet of water, or more than 1.5 million gallons of water per second!

The hydropower system depends on infrastructure strong enough to match the river’s natural energy. Reinforced concrete piers anchored to bedrock keep the penstocks stable. Expansion joints manage stress from water surges and temperature changes. Towering intake structures supply water to 17 turbines that convert the river’s power into electricity for about 270,000 homes.

Hoover Dam’s tremendous scale directly reflects the strength of the Colorado River and the engineering required to turn that power into hydropower.

📸 1: During a high-pressure discharge test at Hoover Dam, water surges from the Arizona and Nevada valve houses, filling the canyon floor with a massive cloud of white mist.
📸 2: Workers assembling the massive wooden form and rebar skeleton of one of the four giant 56-foot-diameter diversion tunnels.
📸 3: One of the massive penstock sections being transported on the internal tramway within the dam.
📸 4: Historic photo of the construction of the intake towers rising above the bedrock of Black Canyon.

09/17/2026

On this day in 1930, a single swing helped set Hoover Dam’s future in motion. 🔨🛤️

September 17, 1930, marks the moment Interior Secretary Ray Lyman Wilbur drove a silver spike to begin construction of the rail spur that linked Las Vegas to the future dam site. During the ceremony, he publicly announced the name Hoover Dam for the first time, a name that later changed and was eventually restored.

This ceremony became an early milestone that pushed the project forward and helped launch the dam’s long hydropower legacy. The new rail line delivered the materials and workforce that made one of the nation’s most important sources of renewable energy possible.

📸: Historic photo of Interior Secretary Wilber driving the silver spike on Union Pacific Branch line from Las Vegas to Boulder City.

09/15/2026

Take a look at these massive high voltage transmission lines near Boulder City, Nevada! They're making their 266 mile journey to Los Angeles all the way from Hoover Dam! Hoover Dam generates about 2.7 billion kilowatt-hours of hydropower every year for Nevada, Arizona, and California.

📸: A historic photo of transmission lines stretching across the Nevada desert into the distance.

09/10/2026

In September of 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt pressed a button from Washington, D.C. to start the small 3,500‑horsepower station service generator, creating the very first spark of electricity at the dam.

This ceremonial activation proved the system worked and produced internal power for the dam itself. The dam later began sending electricity to the public on October 9, 1936, marking the start of commercial power transmission. Today, these milestones represent nearly ninety years of power generation from Hoover Dam.

📸: A crowd gathered at the Hoover Dam Power Plant to witness the very first spark of electricity at the dam.

09/03/2026

The power installation at Hoover Dam was complete when generator N-8 went online, December 1, 1961.

This historic photo captures the installation crew preparing to place the foundation concrete for the last generator. With the final generator operational, the installed generating capacity of Hoover Power Plant, including station service units, reached 1,334,800 kilowatts.

📸: Historic photo of workers preparing foundational concrete inside a large circular pit during the construction of the N-8 generator at Hoover Dam. Tools, construction materials, and equipment surround the work area.

09/01/2026

Excavation for Hoover Dam's powerhouse began alongside work on the dam foundation and abutments, setting the stage for one of the most ambitious hydropower projects in the nation's history. Crews carved out the U-shaped powerhouse at the downstream toe of the dam, completing excavation in late 1933. The first concrete was placed that November, marking a major step toward bringing the power plant online.

📸: Historic photo of the excavation of the Colorado Riverbed to build the foundation of Hoover Dam.

08/28/2026

The Colorado River fuels hydroelectric power at Hoover, Davis and Parker dams, historically generating between four and four and a half billion kilowatt-hours of clean energy each year. That is enough to power the equivalent of about 450,000 homes in Arizona, Nevada and California.

Hydropower is a flexible resource that helps stabilize the electrical grid. It can generate electricity on demand or store potential energy by holding water in reservoirs until it’s needed. By releasing this stored water, hydropower can quickly restore power after an outage, meet peak demand, and maintain proper voltage levels and frequencies across the grid.

📸 1: Hoover Dam Power Plant
📸 2: Davis Dam Power Plant
📸 3: Parker Dam Power Plant

Address

Boulder City, NV
89005

Telephone

+17024942517

Website

http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/

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