The Hoover Dam is an engineering marvel.  Construction started in 1931 and completed with the dedication ceremony on September 30, 1935.  The construction involved thousands of workers, with 112 paying with their lives (and another 42 that died from carbon monoxide related pneumonia).  It was the largest ever concrete construction project at the time, with many of the construction techniques never before used.  There is enough concrete in the dam (3,250,000 cubic yards) to pave a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York.  The dam’s giant generators provide power to Nevada, Arizona and California.  The dam forms Lake Mead on the Colorado river, the largest reservoir in the US.  Due to population growth and continued drought, Lake Mead continues to shrink.  The noticeable white ring shows where the water level used to be (referred to as the “bath tub ring”).  If you’re a history nerd (like me!), then a tour into the subterranean workings of the dam is a must.

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