The Hoover Dam

Why Build the Dam?Flood ControlProvide water for improved farmingExpanded irrigationWater for growing communitiesGenerate ElectricityProvide Jobs

Key VocabularyFloodExpandIrrigationRun-offCommunityGenerateCanyonHydroelectricUpkeep

Construction Started 1931Completed 1936Middle of the Great DepressionCost - $49 Million726 feet high 2nd highest dam in America660 feet thick

Flood ControlSnow run-off from the Rocky Mountains in the Spring frequently caused flooding and destroyed farms

The dam would help control water levels

Provide WaterProvides water for irrigation and communitiesPopulation growth in the southwest from 1931- present dayProvides water for California, Nevada, and Arizona

HydroelectrictyWater pushes through turbines that generate electricityProvides electricity for cities as far as Los Angeles, 266 miles awayElectricity fees pay for all of the dams upkeep

Provide JobsConstruction took place during the Great DepressionMany came to Nevada to work on construction$4.00 a day average worker pay

How did it get its name?Originally supposed to be called Boulder Dam?Named for the canyon where it sits, Boulder CanyonName was changed to Hoover Dam to honor the man responsible for its development

President HooverPresident from 1929 1933

Background in Engineering

Secretary of Commerce before President

Started the Construction of the Dam

Lake MeadBacks up 110 miles from Hoover Dam

Named after Elwood Mead who oversaw the construction of the dam

Provides water for Nevada, California, and Arizona

Ariel View Lake Mead/Hoover Dam

The Colorado River1450 miles longStarts from snow runoff from the Rocky MountainsTravels through five statesProvides water to most of the Southwest USA

Horseshoe Bend Paige Arizona

Vocabulary ReviewDo you know these words?FloodExpandIrrigationRun-offCommunityGenerateCanyonHydroelectricUpkeep