Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

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CHAPTER 11 . SIDE TRIPS FROM LAS VEGAS
Impressions
Everybody knows Las Vegas is the best town by a dam site.
—Masthead slogan of the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Go past the turnoff to Lake Mead. As you near the dam, you’ll see a five-story
parking structure tucked into the canyon wall on your left. Park here ($5 charge)
and take the elevators or stairs to the walkway leading to the new visitor center.
If you would rather go on an organized tour, Coach USA (& 800/
828-6699; www.coachusa.com) offers a Hoover Dam package that includes
admission and a tour of the dam. When you’re in Las Vegas, look for discount
coupons in the numerous free publications available at hotels. The 4-hour
Hoover Dam Shuttle Tour departs daily at 1:30pm and includes pickup and
drop-off at your hotel; the price is $44 for adults, $35 for children 2 to 12.
THE HOOVER DAM
There would be no Las Vegas as we know it without the Hoover Dam. Certainly
the neon and glitz that we know and love would not exist. In fact, the growth of
the entire Southwest can be tied directly to the electricity that comes from the dam.
Until the Hoover Dam was built, much of the southwestern United States
was plagued by two natural problems: parched, sandy terrain that lacked irrigation
for most of the year, and extensive flooding in spring and early summer
when the mighty Colorado River, fed by melting snow from its source in the
Rocky Mountains, overflowed its banks and destroyed crops, lives, and property.
On the positive side, raging unchecked over eons, the river’s turbulent, rushing
waters carved the Grand Canyon.
In 1928, prodded by the seven states through which the river runs during the
course of its 1,400-mile journey to the Gulf of California, Congress authorized
construction of a dam at Boulder Canyon (later moved to Black Canyon). The
Senate’s declaration of intention was that “A mighty river, now a source of
destruction, is to be curbed and put to work in the interests of society.” Construction
began in 1931. Because of its vast scope, and the unprecedented problems
posed in its realization, the project generated significant advances in many
areas of machinery production, engineering, and construction. An army of more
than 5,200 laborers was assembled, and work proceeded 24 hours a day. Completed
in 1936, 2 years ahead of schedule and $15 million under budget (it is,
no doubt, a Wonder of the Modern Fiscal World), the dam stopped the annual
floods and conserved water for irrigation, industrial, and domestic use. Equally
important, it became one of the world’s major electrical generating plants, providing
low-cost, pollution-free hydroelectric power to a score of surrounding
communities. Hoover Dam’s $165 million cost has been repaid with interest by
the sale of inexpensive power to a number of California cities and the states of
Arizona and Nevada. The dam is a government project that paid for itself—a
feat almost as awe-inspiring as its engineering.
The dam itself is a massive curved wall, 660 feet thick at the bottom, tapering
to 45 feet where the road crosses it at the top. It towers 726 feet above
bedrock (about the height of a 60-story skyscraper) and acts as a plug between
the canyon walls to hold back up to 9.2 trillion gallons of water in Lake Mead,
the reservoir created by its construction. Four concrete intake towers on the lake
side drop the water down about 600 feet to drive turbines and create power, after
which the water spills out into the river and continues south.