Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam was one of our day trips while we were in Vegas.  We learned all about the how and why of this edifice.

It was built to manage the water coming down the Colorado river.  In this way it could be meted out more fairly.

We took a tour inside the dam.  I didn't know that one side of the dam is in Nevada and the other side in in Arizona.  

There are many turbines inside the dam.  While we were there, only one of them was being used.  Later in the day when there's more electrical usage, more of them will be running. It was not built for creating electricity but as long as it was being built, why not?

These are the original stairs going up inside the dam.  I feel like it would be similar to climbing the stairs in Kingston at the ski jump.  

Here are the steps going down.  

Here's the water coming into the dam.  Above is the bridge spanning the river. 

It is interesting that when they created this structure, they also thought about making it earthquake proof.  The dam is not anchored into the walls of the canyon.  The concrete it is made of is heavy enough to keep in place.  There are earthquake sensors inside.

This long tunnel is an airshaft leading to the outside.

We were able to walk down that airshaft and have our picture taken in front of the grate.

This large tube was one of four that were built to divert the water so the structure could be built.

The bridge is a memorial to these two guys.  

There are great views from on top.

It was a good day.  I learned a lot of things.