Hoover Dam Review

Named one of the Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20th Century, Hoover Dam continues to draw crowds more than 70 years after its creation.

Attracting more than a million visitors a year, Hoover Dam is located in Black Canyon, just minutes outside of Las Vegas.

In 1930, construction began on the Hoover Dam, the largest of its kind at the time. Despite the remote location and harsh working conditions, it was completed in less than five years -- two years ahead of schedule -- and well under budget.

The dam is named after America's 31st president, Herbert Hoover, who played a large role in bringing the nearby states into agreement about water allocations, settling a 25-year controversy. The dam has been called Boulder Canyon Dam as well as Boulder Dam, but Hoover Dam was reinstated as the official name by Congress in 1947.

A National Historic Landmark, Hoover Dam is the highest concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere, standing at more than 725 feet above the Colorado River. With 17 generators producing 4 billion kilowatts of electricity a year, it also is one of the country's largest hydroelectric power facilities. Operation and maintenance of the facility are solely supported by revenue from power sales.

Two tours of the dam are available and well worth the time and money spent. For $11 per person (discounts available for children, seniors and active military) is the Hoover Dam Power Plant Tour. It is broken up into several components at numerous locations. The unique tour format allows guests to pick and choose which locations they want to see and the complete tour generally lasts about two hours. The Hoover Dam Power Plant Tour begins with a brief video show depicting the history of Hoover Dam and how it came to be. Afterwards, a guide will escort you to an elevator for a 500-foot descent to get an up-close look at the power plant generators housed at the base of the dam. Guests will also see the original diversion tunnels and stand atop a giant, 30-foot pipe where they can feel the rumble of Colorado River water racing through it.

Another interesting stop on the tour is an observation deck set above the dam affording panoramic views of the Colorado River and Lake Mead. The location also provides a bird's-eye view of the Hoover Dam facility, including an unobstructed look at the dam's mechanical components.

The tour continues with several stops along the top of the dam, from the Winged Figures of the Republic to the Nevada Intake Tower.

The second tour option is the new Dam Tour. For $30 per person visitors can enjoy all the options of the Power Plant Tour (including access to the visitor's center, observation deck and original Hoover Dam exhibit building), but they will also get to experience a unique and intimate tour of the dam itself.

The tour continues with an unprecedented look inside the dam, entering through the inspection tunnels. Visitors will be able to see inspection markings written on the walls from decades past and then peek out of the vents down onto the river below. After the inspection tunnels, guests will get to go deeper into the dam and see the seepage gallery and a set of antique stairs. This is the ultimate tour for those interested in the Hoover Dam.

The view from the dam also offers a breathtaking look at Lake Mead, the country's largest man-made reservoir. Although water levels have been low recently, Lake Mead can store up to 9.2 trillion gallons of water, equal to two years of the river's annual flow. It also has become a popular recreation area, sought out by more than 9 million visitors each year.