Hoover Dam is the second highest dam in the United States at 726.4 feet and is 1,244 feet long.  At its base, the dam is 660 feet thick (almost as thick as it is high).   At the top, the dam is 45 feet thick.

Hoover Dam was built in Black Canyon; originally called Boulder Dam because the building site was to be in Boulder Canyon.  The name of the dam was changed  to Hoover in honor of the President who was instrumental in getting it built.

Construction lasted from 1931 to 1936;  the local economy generated from the dam's construction helped solidify Las Vegas on the map.  Photo from May, 2007. 

The States of Nevada and Arizona, the city of Los Angeles, and a number of Southern California communities receive electric power from Hoover Dam.  Photo from May 2007.

Lake Mead is named after the man who was in charge of construction of Hoover Dam:  Elwood Mead.  Troubling predictions from scientists, however, forecast that Lake Mead will go dry by the year 2021.  Photo from May, 2007.

In a photo from August 11, 2010, the water level of the lake has dropped significantly since the photos taken in 2007.  To the left is one of the penstock towers where water enters the dam to reach the turbines. 

One of the two spillways (this one on the Arizona side) that were used to keep the lake from cresting over the dam. 

The bridge that crosses the Arizona spillway just prior to reaching the dam. 

The name plate as seen from the sidewalk crossing the dam. 

Hoover Dam as one begins to cross on foot.  Watch out for high winds! 

From the center of the dam, looking almost straight down. 

The Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge (aka the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge) will provide a new route over the Colorado River on U.S. 93.  The bridge cost is $240 millioin.  This picture was taken June 6, 2009.

The bridge is being built to improve safety and security and to improve traffic capacity.  Once the bridge is open, thru-traffic across the dam will be stopped.  In this picture, the arch is completed by July 23, 2009.

Total length of the bridge will be 1900 feet.  The roadway will be 840 feet above the river.  The bridge is named after Nevada's former governor, Mike O'Callaghan. a Korean War veteran, and Pat Tillman, an ASU and Arizona Cardinals football player who gave up his NFL career to enlist in the army and was killed by friendly fire in Afganistan.

This photo, taken October 22, 2009, shows the arch is now supporting itself; all the support wires have been removed.  The Bypass bridge will be the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the United States.

The roadbed of the bridge has been completed in this photo taken August 11, 2010--photo taken from the center of the dam.

The bridge is now in use, but US 93 is undergoing a widening project from I-40 at Kingman.  Travelers will eventually enjoy a new 4 lane highway which in the future, may be part of an interstate linking Phoenix to Las Vegas.

Jay posing for a photo at the center of Hoover Dam with the almost completed Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge in the background.  Temperature was about 103 degrees in the shade.  Photo taken August 11, 2010.

After years of work and postponement, the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Bridge was opened to the public in October, 2010.  Unfortunately, the new route to Las Vegas is a bit lack-luster and not as interesting as when the highway crossed Hoover Dam.  Unless one is driving in a high-profile vehicle such as a truck or a motorhome, no view is visible of Hoover Dam or the canyon due to the concrete barriers being used as railings along the bridge.  Signs warn travelers that no stopping, no parking, and no walking are allowed in a two-mile section along the highway encompassing the bridge.  So, for most travelers, no views of the dam while crossing the bridge are to be seen.  The video of crossing the new Bypass bridge was taken October 31, 2010.