Hoover Dam (Nevada, Arizona)

The Hoover Dam was named after Herbert C. Hoover, the 31st President of the United States.

56 percent of the generated energy is delivered to Southern California. High voltage towers had to be built as an inclined structure on the edge of the vertically steep gorge.

The impounded lake has an area of 63,900 hectares, a length of approximately 170 km, and a maximum depth of about 180 meters. With its storage capacity of approximately 35 cubic kilometers, it is the largest reservoir in the USA. It is jointly managed with Lake Powell (33 cubic kilometers), located further upstream on the Colorado River, to optimize water supply in the southwestern United States and Mexico.

Las Vegas owes its current appearance to the construction of the dam, as thousands of workers were needed for the construction project, turning the small desert settlement founded in 1905 into the present-day gambling metropolis. Construction began in 1931, and the dam was completed in 1935.

The border between the states of Arizona and Nevada runs exactly in the middle of the dam, which is why Nevada's time zone prevails on one side and Arizona's on the other, indicated by a clock on each side. The time difference is one hour.

We stayed overnight in Kingman.