The power plants provide electricity to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and San Diego. True, it saves a little time over the old road across the dam. Your guess is as good as mine whether well get that. Now for the issues. Ask them to look up the construction dates for the other Colorado River dams shown on Map 1, as well as the purpose/benefits for which they were built. Do students think it would be necessary for the federal government to be involved to plan and complete such a new dam? Why were congressional representatives from the state of California the leading supporters of a big dam on the Colorado? 4. The driver crossing the bridge does not see the engineering involved. Hoover dam is the height of a 60-story building and is 45ft thick at the top and 660ft at the bottom. Ickes defended his decision by stating, "The men who pioneered this project knew it by this. What would have been the minuses? Ask the students to compare the private projects with the ones that were the result of government programs and to define for themselves the differences between public and private "works." Why or why not? Standard C - The student describes the various forms institutions take and the interactions of people with institutions. Then divide the class into small groups. There are many canyons on the river, some almost as dramatic as the Grand Canyon, located just upstream from Hoover Dam's reservoir. Then, we walked up the bridge to see the dam. How does that change if the level of the reservoir is getting too high? In June a great flood came down the river. Make them each 56 feet in diameter, then line them with three feet of concrete. Finally, ask the students to consider what effect building a new dam might have on these problems. Do you think anybody today would suggest that no one might notice if you flooded one of them? It once was the Earth's tallest dam. Across the San Jacinto Mountains southwest of Boulder Dam, the cities of Southern California are constructing an aqueduct to cost $220,000,000, which they have raised, for the purpose of carrying the regulated waters of the Colorado River to the Pacific Coast 259 miles away. The U.S. Reclamation Service, renamed the Bureau of Reclamation in 1923, was created to design and build these systems. In 1924, Reclamation reported that 143,000 people lived on the agency's 24 irrigation projects and that farm earnings for that year totaled $70 million. The President identified benefits the new dam had already provided. The Hoover Dam wasn't built just to be a tourist attraction, naturally. Hoover Dam is 1,244 feet long at the top. Those managing dam security are bound by a host of government regulations and security standards including Homeland Security Presidential Directives and regulations and standards enforced by the North American Electrical Reliability Council (NERC). It stretched the abilities of its builders to the limits. Who could make that decision? Engineers, digging for bedrock on which to build, had to excavate so far beneath the bed of the Colorado River that 73 percent of Parker Dam's 320-foot . How did the shovels get down into the canyon? They saw the dam as a potential source of water and hydroelectric power for homes, businesses, and factories. What other hazards do you think the men working on the jumbos might have faced? (We forgot to say that youll have to string some cables and pulleys across the canyon to let stuff down to bottom. The materials listed below can be used directly on the computer or printed out, photocopied, and distributed to students. During the 1920s, the big dam on the Colorado was usually called the "Boulder Canyon Project" or sometimes "Boulder Dam." Is there a security background check? By mid-summer, the rivers flow was barely enough to supply the farms in southern California and Arizona that depended on it. 3. To people who have not taken our engineering course, it seems pretty tough to dry out a river, but actually its a cinch. You will go about 20 mph. 3. One of the definitions of "penstock" is a pipe or conduit that carries water from a reservoir to electrical generating equipment. 5. Used by permission. 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. Theme IV: Individual Development and Identity. Visitors with prohibited items will be turned away at the Nevada Security Checkpoint. The use of materials makes wealth. Hoover Dam. Basically, the permit allows passage over the dam during daylight hours, when the permit is presented along with the driver's license. How much money has been allotted to secure the dam? Assorted steam shovels, etc.you'll have to move about 6 million cubic yards of rock and dirt, digging tunnels and whittling out the canyon walls to make room for the dam. All visitors are required to go through security screening when entering the Visitor Center. Not as exciting as the Grand Canyon but worth the visit. In addition to the Hoover Dam police force, the dam employs additional contract security personnel to man vehicle checkpoints on the Nevada and Arizona entrance points. This makes suicide the tenth leading cause of death, with a rate of 12.4 per 100,000 population. The Hoover Dam Police, officially the Bureau of Reclamation Police, was a federal security police force, stationed at Hoover Dam 23 miles (37 km) southeast of Las Vegas.Reclamation Police Officers were stationed only at Hoover Dam. The new law laid out four goals for the new dam: prevent floods, improve navigation on the river, store and deliver the Colorados waters, and generate electric power. The amount of water now available across the US west is well below that of any time in modern civilization, said Park Williams, a hydroclimatologist at Columbia University. This year is the second driest on record, with the flow into Lake Mead just a quarter of what would be considered normal. 3. Why do you think Six Companies disregarded the state law? Standard 1BThe student demonstrates how American life changed during the depression years. 5. Only 1.8% of the west is not in some level of drought, with California, Arizona and New Mexico all experiencing their lowest rainfalls on record over the previous 12 months. We are here to celebrate the completion of the greatest dam in the world, rising 726 feet above the bedrock of the river and altering the geography of a whole region; we are here to see the creation of the largest artificial lake in the world115 miles long, holding enough water, for example, to cover the State of Connecticut to a depth of ten feet; and we are here to see nearing completion a power house which will contain the largest generators yet installed in this country. Why or why not? Every foot of elevation loss reduces the power potential by 5.7 megawatts. Constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation to meet the requirements of the 1944 Treaty with Mexico, Davis Dam was originally created to regulate the amount of water to be delivered downstream and eventually to Mexico. The Hoover Dam Police force has expanded to accommodate the security measures implemented. By this time, too, developers in Los Angeles and other rapidly growing cities in Southern California had added their powerful support for the project. The view from the bridge is not spectacular and the dam cannot be seen while driving over the bridge. 2. The following activities will help students build on what they have learned. Its base is as thick as two football fields are long. Standard C - The student analyzes and explains ideas and governmental mechanisms to meet needs and wants of citizens, regulate territory, manage conflict, and establish order and security. CSO: What security changes have been made at the Hoover Dam since 9/11? Theme VII: Production, Distribution, and Consumption. Why or why not? 6) To identify public works in their own local community. Cement5 million barrels. The lake extends about 110 miles upstream from the dam. At flood time, if the lake rises high enough to reach the spillways, it can be turned out through these original tunnels. The Story of Hoover Dam Film They paid for all supplies and inspected the contractors work. You are going to have 3500 men working day and night for five years, so youve got to have some place to put em. In March 1931, Reclamation awarded the contract to build the dam to Six Companies, Inc. Six Companies was a group of some of the largest construction companies in the country. 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. Each spillway, designed to let floodwaters pass without harming the dam itself, can handle the volume of water that flows over Niagara Falls. . Plug the upper end of the tunnels to cut off water from the lake. We were waved by. In addition to directions and information about touring the dam, it includes links to The Story of Hoover Dam, a series of essays on construction of the dam, a database of hundreds of historic images, and a packet of educational materials. 1. Wed need three or four above average years, back to back, to restore the lake. Trace the course of the Colorado River. What might people "miss" about these canyons if they were filled with water? #4 - Las Vegas, NV - stay in the heart of it all for the casinos, shows and nightlife, then, take a tour of the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon for memories that last a . LESSON NO. Standard D - The student explains the need for laws and policies to govern scientific and technological applications, such as in the safety and well-being of workers and consumers and the regulation of utilities, radio, and television. Standard D - The student identifies and uses processes important to reconstructing and reinterpreting the past, such as using a variety of sources, providing, validating, and weighing evidence for claims, checking credibility of sources, and searching for causality. 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. It impounds Lake Mead, which extends for 115 miles (185 km) upstream and is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. 2. The states of the west, primarily Arizona and Nevada, now face hefty cuts in their water supplies amid a two-decade drought fiercer than anything seen in a millennium. During a dark time, Hoover Dam seemed to transcend Americans fears about the future. Standard H - The student analyzes the effectiveness of selected public policies and citizen behaviors in realizing the stated ideals of a democratic republican form of government. The Hoover Dam is located in the southwestern part of the United States. It happened outside of the Arizona generator powerhouse at an electric transformer. 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. 2. Ultimate Hoover Dam Tour from Las Vegas With Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The compact also committed the U.S. government to providing some of the water to Mexico. (Bureau of Reclamation; Ben Glaha, photographer). The dam was constructed during the Great Depression in the 1930s and was completed in 1936, providing jobs for thousands of workers during a time of economic hardship.
