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Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam is
located in Black Canyon between Nevada and Arizona and was built
in 1935 for $165 million. The Colorado River flows into Lake Mead,
the dam's man-made reservoir. |
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| They have tours
where they explain how the dam works, and you also get to see the
big generators. |
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| The view of
the dam if you just drive past on the way to Las Vegas. We
also saw two wild burros on the side of Highway 93 on the way to
the dam. |
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The Hoover
Dam is:
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726.4
feet tall
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1,244
feet wide
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660
feet thick at its base.
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made
of 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete
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used
for irrigation, water supply, and hydroelectric power
-
named
for President Herbert Hoover
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Hoover
Dam Trivia
- The
State of Nevada first legalized gambling in 1931. At that
same time, the Hoover Dam was being built and the federal
government did not want its workers (who earned 50 cents an
hour) to be involved with such diversions, so they built the
town of Boulder City to house the dam workers. To this day,
Boulder City is the only city in Nevada where gambling is
illegal.
- Enough
rock was excavated in its construction to build the Great
Wall of China.
- Contrary
to belief, no workers were buried in the dam's concrete.
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