Showing posts with label Hoover Dam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hoover Dam. Show all posts

Monday, November 5, 2007

Leaning towers, dam and a lake

It's not the leaning tower of Pisa. These are electric lines running on the side of the road that leads to Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam is a gravity-arch dam built in Black canyon on the Colorado river in the border of Arizona and Nevada. Taking just 4 years to complete construction, it is considered as an engineering marvel. Also called as Boulder Dam, this monolithic structure is considered a National Historic Landmark and is maintained by the Bureau of Reclamation. The dam forms Lake Mead which is a reservoir as well as National recreation area.

Featured in such talkies like the James Bond action flick Golden Eye, Hoover Dam has been a major tourist attractor since its opening. Having Las Vegas in its proximity definitely helps in bringing local and international visitors throughout the year. A good portion of the drive from Las Vegas is scenic and the final stretch is prone to traffic as tourists try to locate vacant parking spaces in the Visitor center. Discovery Tour of Hoover Dam and the power generators are conducted to provide an enriching educational experience. The Hoover Dam Visitor center is open between 9 am and 6 pm everyday with the exception of holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Lake Mead being the largest man-made lake in the United States, offers a wealth of activities like boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, hiking along the lakes and wildlife photography. It is believed that Lake Mead attracts about 8 to 10 million visitors every year. The Alan Bible visitor center in Lake Mead is opened 8:30 am to 4:30 pm everyday with the exception of few holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.