The river crosses the border into Mexico. A dam's electrical output is partly a function of the height of its reservoir. What three groups did Roosevelt credit with the building of the dam? In this lesson, students have learned why and how Hoover Dam was constructed. Which job would be most important? Eventually they removed 1.5 million cubic yards of rock. A few hundred miles north, a fast-moving wildfire incinerated the town of Lytton in British Columbia the day after it set a Canadian temperature record of 121F (49.4C). Most had to travel many miles, at the end through a hostile desert, to reach this location on the border between Nevada and Arizona. Topics: This lesson could be used in American history, social studies, government, and civics courses in units on the Great Depression and the New Deal, American political history, or the history of technology. First, a minor point. Weve seen extremes we havent seen before, we now have scenarios that are very, very dry.. Drill holes connecting them with two of the tunnels constructed in Lesson 4. Dams play a vital role in the nation's overall infrastructure. Another change is the modification of tour routes. The Art Deco concrete structure, located about an hour outside Las Vegas in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, straddling the Nevada-Arizona border, was the largest hydroelectric generating station, and the world's largest concrete structure when completed in 1936. At capacity (1,221.4 feet above sea level), the lake is the nation's largest reservoir, able to contain 28.9 million acre-feet of water covering about 248 square miles. Hoover Dam, located where the Colorado River forms the boundary between the states of Nevada and Arizona, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a National Historic Landmark. Questions for Reading 3 4. Hoover Dam PBS Film Which states are they? Across the desert and mountains to the west and south run great electric transmission lines by which factory motors, street and household lights and irrigation pumps will be operated in Southern Arizona and California. The river, and dam, made the west; now the climate crisis threatens to break it. 5 in Reading 2. There is a security check point that causes slow traffic as you are on the road to see the dam. What might be the advantages of each type of ownership? Ill continue to watch the weather, every day., Lake Mead: largest US reservoir falls to historic low amid devastating drought, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Lake Mead behind the Hoover dam from the Arizona side. How does that compare with the 16.5 million acre feet that the Colorado River Compact used as the basis for calculating the amount of water available for allocation to the states? Concrete was delivered to each block in buckets, eight cubic yards at a time. The dams, particularly the Hoover Dam, were also intended to control the torrential floods that would come downstream in big water years. It protects southern California and Arizona from the disastrous floods for which the Colorado had been famous. Some of the public works in the community may be historic; students might want to consider nominating them to national or state registers of historic places or including them in walking or driving tours or in on-line travel itineraries for presentation to the local chamber of commerce. They joined specifically for this project. 7 Things You Might Not Know About the Hoover Dam - HISTORY All of the water conservation efforts that have kept shortages at bay until now risk being surpassed by the rising heat. Concrete has a nasty habit of cracking. If the two don't match, the vehicle is turned away. Under The Bridge The. The company requesting a permit lists its point of origin and delivery, submits a listing of its drivers, and provides appropriate detailed information such as driver's license number, complete with photo. They were responsible for keeping the project on schedule and within budget. Stuff the holes with dynamite, and blast it away. Why do you think Six Companies developed this process? What might people "miss" about these canyons if they were filled with water? . Why or why not? How do you think the engineers decided where to locate the features shown here? Why do you think they used a measure like that, rather than something like gallons? The huge volume of water stored in the reservoir weighs so much that it deformed the earths crust, causing more than 600 small earthquakes in the late 1930s. 9 If the states did not agree with what you recommended, who do you think should have the right to make a final decision? The driver crossing the bridge does not see the engineering involved. Located in Pyramid Canyon about 70 miles downstream from Hoover Dam, this zoned earth-fill dam consists of concrete . The engineering might of Hoover dam undoubtably reshaped Americas story, harnessing a raucous river to help carve huge cities and vast fields of crops into unforgiving terrain. How many steam shovels can you count? LESSON NO. No sprawling food bowl of wheat, alfalfa and corn. All visitors are required to go through security screening when entering the Visitor Center. Take NV SR 172 for about 2 miles to the dam. Check the Hoover Dam website for more detailed information, including seasonal hours of operation. That is why I have the right once more to congratulate you who have built Boulder Dam and on behalf of the Nation to say to you, "Well done." 1) One map showing the Colorado River Basin; The Boulder Canyon Project Act said that the cost of building Hoover Dam had to be repaid by selling electricity and that contracts for all the electricity had to be signed before construction began. Whom did they benefit? Parker Dam is on the Colorado River, 155 miles downstream from Hoover Dam. Once we got on the other side the traffic was stopped trying to get down in there. This morning I came, I saw and I was conquered, as everyone would be who sees for the first time this great feat of mankind. They werent sure that even Reclamations engineers had enough knowledge and experience to make the dam strong and safe. The short answer: no, yes, further than you think, a half-day, yes. Continue on US 93 for about 5 miles to the turn-off to Nevada State Route 172the Hoover Dam Access Road. Actually, once we got thru the checkpoint, we drove to the visitor center, where we parked in a garage ($10, cash only), and then we walked across the actual dam my kids were excited about walking from Nevada to Arizona and back again. then, once we returned to our car, we stopped at the bridge. Our choices were based on those which were obvious, from the list of the ancient world wonders, massive, man-made, and enduring. At the gate are several agents and they can wave you by or pull you over. The availability of water stored behind Hoover Dam and the power produced by that water played a critical role in the growth of the American Southwest in the mid-20th century, but the demand for more water and electricity soon outstripped what this one dam could provide. Then ask them to imagine what it might have been like to have that job at Hoover Dam. Divide students into small groups and ask them to investigate examples of public works in their own community. There are eight generators inside the Nevada . Most of the water is used in the Lower Colorado Basin. 3. Standard I - The student describes ways that historical events have been influenced by, and have influenced, physical and human geographic factors in local, regional, national, and global settings. All these dimensions are superlative. . The heat has been otherworldly, with Phoenix recently enduring a record six straight days above 115F (46.1C). One of the definitions of "penstock" is a pipe or conduit that carries water from a reservoir to electrical generating equipment. Throughout our national history we have had a great program of public improvements, and in these past two years all that we have done has been to accelerate that program. Why did many people think something needed to be done to control the Colorado River? (Bureau of Reclamation; photographer unknown), (Boulder City Museum and Historical Association; photographer unknown. ad the formidable white arc of the Hoover dam never held back the Colorado River, the US west would probably have no Los Angeles or Las Vegas as we know them today. What benefits would controlling it provide and to whom? Hoover Dam would be the highest dam in the world, far taller than anything they had built so far. Americans began coming to see the big dam long before it was completed four years later. We know, too, that the reason for this speeding up was the need of giving relief to several million men and women whose earning capacity had been destroyed by the complexities and lack of thought of the economic system of the past generation. Why was this work necessary? The white bathtub ring around Lake Mead shows the record low water levels as drought continues to worsen in Nevada. What you see is not what you get at Parker Dam, known as "the deepest dam in the world.". Seen from above in time lapse over the years, Lake Mead looks like a spindly puddle withering away in the Mojave Desert, as nearby Las Vegas, which gets almost all of its water from the lake and went a record 240 days last year without rain, balloons in size. Lakes in Arizona are now so low they cant be used to fight the fires themselves spurred by drought, while the retreat of Lake Folsom in California uncovered the wreckage of a plane that crashed 56 years ago. Barely into summer, hundreds of people have already died from the heat along the west coast. Standard C - The student identifies and describes selected historical periods and patterns of change within and across cultures, such as the rise of civilizations, the development of transportation systems, the growth and breakdown of colonial systems, and others. If students identify a neglected public works project, they may want to consider creating a PowerPoint presentation to present to local government authorities to call attention to the problem. It caused enormous damage and permanently flooded thousands of acres. You have to climb 70 steps to get to it so be ready. Since 2000, the water level in Lake Mead, which is the reservoir formed by Hoover Dam and holds the title of the largest reservoir in the country, has dropped about 140 feet. Internal combustion engines produce carbon monoxide. Ice plantyouve got to have a plant capable of turning out about 2 million pounds of ice a day. Tickets for tours of the dam and the power plant are available at the Visitor Center. The lake extends about 110 miles upstream from the dam. Take a canyonAny canyon several blocks deep, with a good sized river running through it, will do. By 1933, the date of this photo, Six Companies had built a lookout on the top of the canyon for tourists coming to the site. Why or why not? . 2. The most amazing facts and secrets hidden in the Hoover Dam The amount of water in the lake, when full, could cover the whole state of Connecticut ten feet deep. The bridge was completed in 2010 and there are many descriptions about the building of the bridge so its good for any kids with an architecture and/or civil engineering interest.