Hoover Dam Facts and Statistics

Hoover DamHoover Dam intake towers under construction, hoover dam tours from las vegas

Hoover Dam intake towers under construction

Hoover Dam

  • 726.4 feet high (221 meters)
  • 1,244 feet wide (379 meters)
  • 660 feet (203 meters) thick at the base
  • 45 feet (13 meters) thick at the top
  • $165 million dollars to build
  • 4.5 years to build
  • 4.4 million yards of concrete used for construction
  • Building began March 1931; Lake Mead began to form behind Hoover Dam in 1935
  • September 30, 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the completed Boulder Dam Project, and in his speech Roosevelt officially named the dam “Boulder Dam”
  • A three-cent stamp was issued by the United States Post Office Department—bearing the name “Boulder Dam”, the official name of the dam between 1933 and 1947
  • Boulder Dam was re-named “Hoover Dam” by Congress in 1947
Hoover Dam Power Plant TourHoover Dam generator room, hoover dam tours from las vegas

One of Two Hoover Dam Generator Rooms – Photo taken on a Nevada Power Plant Tour

Hoover Dam Powerhouse

  • Hoover Dam has Two Powerhouses – one on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, and one on the Nevada side of the Colorado River
  • 17 generators – 9 on the Arizona powerhouse, 7 in the Nevada powerhouse
  • 4+ billion kilowatt hours produced each year
  • 10 acres of floor space
Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Colorado River, Hoover Dam Power PlantsHoover Dam Powerhouses, hoover dam generator rooms, seen from pedestrian walkway on the New Hoover Dam Bridge, hoover dam tours from las vegas

Hoover Dam Powerhouses viewed from pedestrian walkway on the New Hoover Dam Bridge

Power from Hoover Dam is used by:

  • 56% California
  • 25% Nevada
  • 19% Arizona

Water from Lake Mead, controlled by Hoover Dam:

  • Serves 8 million people in Arizona, Nevada and California
  • Downstream releases of water from Lake Mead at Hoover Dam provide water for both municipal and irrigation uses.
  • Water released from the Hoover Dam eventually reaches the All-American Canal for the irrigation of over 1,000,000 acres of land in Southern Arizona, California, and Mexico.
Lake Mead Overflow at Hoover Dam Hoover Dam Overflow, Lake Mead full, old hoover dam postcard, hoover dam tours from las vegas

Lake Mead water Overflows Around Hoover Dam, as seen from Arizona Side. An Old Hoover Dam Postcard – circa 1983

Lake Mead

  • Required over 6 years to fill. This slow filling process was necessary to reduce the pressures on the dam and helped prevent small earthquakes from land settlement from the weight of the water.
  • 589 feet (181 meters) at the deepest point
  • 247 square miles
  • 110 miles (176 km) long
  • Named after Dr. Elwood Mead, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation (1924 – 1936)
  • Largest man-made reservoir in the United States

Martin McUber, Las Vegas Tour Guide

Martin McUber, Las Vegas Tour Guide

Author (active), Tour Guide (retired) at Best Las Vegas Detours
Desert Rat, Tour Guide Since 2008. I've helped happy, adventurous people from around the world see the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Skywalk, Area 51, Hollywood, Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Yellowstone, and more; with helicopters, boats, day trips, private family multi-day tours through 5 western states. I've been everywhere, man, I've been everywhere! - more...
Martin McUber, Las Vegas Tour Guide

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