Thursday, Hoover Dam

Out of the city, on to Hoover Dam today.  The drive to Hoover Dam was rather uneventful, no spectacular scenery.  Until we arrived at the dam!

Although the dam is not a natural wonder, it is nevertheless a wonder! What is amazing is the fact that the engineers conceived and brought to completion this structure without the aid of CAD or even advanced calculators.

We took the tour - had a delightful guide - but what stood out to me was the most was the sparkling cleanliness of the place, from the parking deck down to below the dam in the turbine area.  Gleaming, "see your face in the reflection clean."  Guess I was expecting a dark, noisy, greasy, coal-dust (I know, I know - water-turbine!) filled tunnel. Steve was most impressed with "the construction of it" - how's that for a male / female perspective?!

So, for those who are interested in "the construction of it" here is some physical data: (hopefully more interesting than me saying "Wow, it must have taken a ton of concrete to build it!)

The Dam
Type: Arch gravity
Height: 726.4 feet
Crest length: 1224 feet
Crest width: 45 feet
Base width: 660 feet
Volume of concrete: 3.25 million cubic yards

The Powerplant
Commercial generating units: 17
Station service units: 2
Nameplate capacity: 2080 megawatts
Length (each wing): 650 feet
Width (each wing): 55 feet
Height (each wing): 75 feet

Lake Mead
Shoreline: 550 miles
Capacity: 28,254,000 acre-feet
Maximum depth: 498 feet
Length when full: 110 miles

Sorry to interrupt the program, but just ate an authentic Navajo Indian restaurant that served Mexican food.  Very busy, and we were the only white people in the place!  Had Mexican pizza - delicious.  Just thought I'd throw that tidbit in.

Back on the road again - about an hour from Albuquerque, then about half an hour further to our destination for the next 3 days - Santa Fe.  We are so looking forward to Santa Fe -  we love the southwestern culture and architecture.  Thinking about doing our basement in southwestern style - goes great with European Traditional, right?!