Alcántara Villegas Areli Alejandra. 7CM4.

PROCEDIMIENTOS CONSTRUCTIVOS II.

UNIDAD II: PROCEDIMIENTOS CONSTRUCTIVOS DE PRESAS.

The Hoover Dam.

The Hoover Dam, in Colorado, Nevada, is one of the most important structures that had
been built in last years. It was constructed in 1931 during the Great Depression, and is a
concrete arch-gravity dam that produces hydroelectric power. In its time it was the
heaviest and tallest dam ever built.
21 000 workers were involved in the construction of this imposing dam, and this
superstructure was a departure to a new generations of dams. Many years ago, the
Hoover Dam was one of the most difficult and challenging engineering projects made, the
workers were in extreme conditions and more than 100 died for different causes.
The Hoover Dam is 221 meters high, its base measures 201 meters thick and it has about
3.4 million cubic meters of concrete. This dam is located in the Black Canyon of the
Colorado River, one of the most powerful and intermittent rivers that runs through the
American Southwest. And it has two main functions:
To control the flooding when the water level of the river raises.
To utilize the huge potency of the river’s stream to provide electricity for thousands
of houses.
The constructive process of this building was extremely difficult since at the main location
there was no local workers nor infrastructure nor direct transport to the place, so these
and other resources were provided by Las Vegas, Nevada, which was 30 miles away.
The construction of this dam was also a great opportunity for many people that were in
economic crisis because of the Great Depression. People was desperate to feed
themselves and their families. A little time passed by since the start of the construction
and thousands of workers were already being exploited. They worked under punishing
schedules and they were not under the best conditions, however, this wasn’t considered
as a big “concerning” by the main heads, because much more people were waiting for an
opportunity to get a job at the dam construction.
The Hoover Dam was the first superstructure that changed dam building, and it inspired
lots of future projects, to be broader, taller, and more productive.
The capacity of this dam is up to 704 800 Kilowatts, and 56% of this energy was destined
for Los Angeles in Southern California, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

YouTube: “The Hoover Dam – Megastructures – Full National Geography

Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE8yZZ5QEj4