Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona. Completed in 1936, it controls floods, stores water, and generates electricity.

Arch-gravity dam: A dam that combines the weight-based stability of a gravity dam with the arch action of a curved structure. Hoover Dam uses both mass and curvature to resist the Colorado River’s pressure.
Colorado River Compact: A 1922 agreement dividing Colorado River water among the river basin’s upper and lower states. The compact helped establish the political framework for building a major storage dam.
Frank Crowe: An American engineer who directed construction of Hoover Dam for the Six Companies consortium. Crowe organized the demanding construction schedule and methods at the site.
Colorado River: A major river of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico that flows into the Gulf of California. Hoover Dam regulates a river whose water serves cities, farms, and ecosystems across the Southwest.
Glen Canyon Dam: A concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, completed in 1966. Built upstream decades later, it created another major reservoir and altered the same river system.
Lake Mead: A reservoir on the Colorado River formed by Hoover Dam and named for Bureau of Reclamation commissioner Elwood Mead. The reservoir stores water behind the dam and regulates releases downstream.
Boulder Canyon Project Act: A 1928 United States law authorizing construction of Hoover Dam and related water and power projects. Congressional authorization turned the proposed dam into a federally funded project.
Herbert Hoover: The 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933, and an engineer by training. The dam was named for Hoover, whose administration advanced the Colorado River project.
Colorado River Basin: The drainage region whose rivers and streams flow into the Colorado River. The dam’s storage and releases affect water allocation across this larger watershed.
Grand Coulee Dam: A large gravity dam on the Columbia River in Washington State, completed in 1942. Its massive straight gravity structure contrasts with Hoover Dam’s curved arch-gravity design.

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