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Hoover Dam Construction

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Hoover Dam Construction
The Hoover Dam, a tremendous barrier holding up the powerful Colorado River, was built during the Great Depression. This project gave an average of 21,000 people a job around the United States, hiring six companies. Construction on the Hoover Dam started April 20, 1931 and ended March 1, 1936; two years ahead of schedule. This was the world's largest dam at the time; capable of holding 9 trillion gallons of water, weighing close to 6.6 million tons requiring 3,250,000 cubic yards of concrete as well as another million to construct the power plants, intake towers and other structures. Hoover Dam construction cost came to be $49 million, being $836 million in today’s money. The Dam was 660 feet wide at the bottom, 1,224 feet across the top and …show more content…
Paying an average of $4.00 a day, for an unskilled worker and minimum wage cost was $6.00 an hour. The “high scalers” that walked on the cliffs and risked their lives everyday where paid $5.60 a day. During the depression these were not bad wages, as it gave workers an income for their families at a dark time. This project also gave jobs to people all around the United States, becoming a universal significance. During the construction of Hoover Dam, Boulder City was created where the workers would live after their daily shift was over. The houses housed both the workers and their families that located just a few miles out from the dam site, giving easy access for the workers. During the construction and after the dam was finished, Boulder City expanded and is still existent …show more content…
There are 17 main turbines located in the power plant, nine on the Arizona side and eight on the Nevada side. These turbines produce electricity from flowing water of the Colorado River as well as Lake Mead, the turbines contain copper coils that convert the rushing water to natural electricity that is then dispersed to the cities. The dam generates around 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power each year for use in the states of Nevada, Arizona and California. The electricity produced by the dam provides 1.3 million people with power every year. Power generated by the Hoover Dam runs through the overhead power grid supplying the cities with power that receive energy from the Hoover
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