Hoover Dam, 726 ft (221 m) high and 1,244 ft (379 m) long, on the Colorado River between Nev. and Ariz.; one of the world's largest dams. Built between 1931 and 1936 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the dam is named for President Herbert Hoover Hoover, Herbert Clark, 1874–1964, 31st President of the United States (1929–33), b. West Branch, Iowa.

Wartime Relief Efforts

After graduating (1895) from Stanford, he worked as a mining engineer in many parts of the world.
..... Click the link for more information. ; from 1933 to 1947 it was known as Boulder Dam. A key unit on the Colorado 1 kŏlərăd`ə, –răd`ō, –rä`dō 2 kŏlərā`də, –rä`də).

1 Great river of the SW United States, 1,450 mi (2,334 km) long, rising in the Rocky Mts. of N Colo.
..... Click the link for more information. , the dam is a major supplier of hydroelectric power and provides for flood control, river regulation, and improved navigation. Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead Mead, Lake, 247 sq mi (640 sq km), on the Nev.-Ariz. border, formed by Hoover Dam across the Colorado River. The lake is 115 mi (185 km) long, from 1 to 8 mi (1.6–12.
..... Click the link for more information. , the largest reservoir in the United States; water is used to irrigate more than 650,000 acres (263,000 hectares) in S California and Arizona, and c.400,000 acres (162,000 hectares) in Mexico. Hoover Dam is part of Lake Mead National Recreation Area (see National Parks and Monuments National Parks and Monuments

National Parks
Name Type¹ Location Year authorized Size

acres (hectares)

Description
Acadia NP SE Maine 1919 48,419 (19,603) Mountain and coast scenery.
..... Click the link for more information. , table). Boulder City Boulder City, residential city (1990 pop. 12,567), S Nev., just W of Hoover Dam near Lake Mead; inc. 1959. Built (1932) by the federal government as headquarters during the dam's construction, it became a self-governing municipality by act of Congress in 1958.
..... Click the link for more information. , Nev., was built to house workers on the project.

Bibliography

See J. E. Stevens, Hoover Dam (1988).

Hoover Dam

formerly Boulder Dam

Highest concrete arch dam in the U.S., built on the Colorado River at the Arizona-Nevada border. It impounds Lake Mead. The dam, completed in 1936, is used for flood and silt control, electric power, irrigation, and domestic and industrial water supplies. It is 726 ft (221 m) high and 1,244 ft (379 m) long (along the crest), has a power capacity of 1,345 megawatts, and a volume of 4.4 million cu yd (3.36 million cu m).

Hoover Dam

a dam in the western US, on the Colorado River on the border between Nevada and Arizona; forms Lake Mead. Height: 222 m (727 ft.). Length: 354 m (1180 ft.)