You will want ' ' N E v A D to know that ::; . EXPLANATION IRRIGATED AREAS (::=.~·:\.] " • Hoon:r Dam i, the world. high t dam. IRRIGABLE AREAS ~ ' • Lake . le.id i the world. large,t re enoir. LI NES .--.... TRANS ~AIS3 1 0N • Elc,·a or de cend from he d.1m· crr - . 8 t . t u I Scale of Miles ' o a ++-' ory buildin!!. 10 0 26 50 ' '" • ~ Liximurn "atcr pn· 'ur on the d.1111·, h.1 · 1 .r .000 Revised 1946 pound per qu.trL fc t.

If Statistics Interest You T L T L I.\TE L - T.\LL. T l ( . -

Hoon·r D.11n i I ere ti'..... :\ t top i I'.. :\ bo tom it i 0 ncn·te contt·nt of dam Lake _ l ead i ...... I 15 n11 I ' c.1pacit~ i'. ~1 . 0+ 7 . 000 ac. Flcxxl-con r )I • enc _ .500.000 acr -C \ L1ximum d1·p h ...... 589 fret. Lake _ l ead cowr ... 1 + .500 acre . Power-pl.mt capacity 1.850.000 hoN I"' er. L :irgc gener.1 or ...... 15 .ipacity of each. 8 2 .500 . ii<)\\ m.111 gt•ner.1tor' ------2 O ne oL ...... +o.ooo kilm,. O ne of...... 50.000 kilO\\, L.tf!!l' urhint•, . l j E.1ch of 1 15.000 hor t•pc ''er. m.111 urhine - -····· 2 One of...... 70.000 ho1,t·1 '' r. O ne oL...... 55.000 ho1 . epo 'er.

pillway'··--·- .. ------2 apacity of each. '2 00,000 CU. ft. .1 , 'CO d. D rum ga te each ... J OO by 16 fe et. pillway tunnek .. ------2 Di.imeter of each ...... 50 fe et. Intake tm, er, a re...... 395 feet high. D iameter of each...... 75 feet. apacity of outlek ... _ . .. 90,000 cu. ft. .1 ·c d. Exc;n-ation to aled.... 6.+80.000 cubic' ~rd . tee! and metal u' ed ... _ .. . 96.000.000 pound . M E x Yah·e , gate,. hoi't'----- ...... 33,000,000 pound . tee! in pen toc k, ...... 89.000,000 pound' . ... T otal concrete ...... 4.360,000 cubic y.irds .

U. S. GO VER MEN T PRI NTI NG OFFI CE 16 - 47422- 3 History Achiev ements

T nE ONCE W ILD Colorado River has been tamed. Now Hom-ER DAM is a versatile, multiple-purpose giant wi th it is doing man's work, bringing untold wealth to the equally vital achievements in hydropower production, vast agricultural and industrial Southwestern empire irricration flood control, city water, recreation, and wild­ which it has hel ped to create. life pre ervation. I t:. hydroelectric power and irrigation waters are the Completion of Hoover Dam in Black Canyon closed backbone of a highly developed economy which has an initial ch apt ~ r in man's long effort to harness the created a ,-aluable market for the products of farms, resources of one of the world's most treacherous rivers. mine , and factorie of the Nation. And the structure Since the Spaniards discovered the Colorado in 1 540 tand::, a a bulwark against the great main-strea m floods until the completion of the dam in 1936, the river offered tha t ravacred the lower reaches of the Colorado River. neither a desirable all-year route for exploration nor a Energy ,,-hich i generated at H oover Dam has helped dependable source of water for those who sought to to make po ible the huge indu trial de elopment and irrigate farms or produce power. PoM;' Plan t 1•a t popul ation in rease in the Los Angeles area. T oday The lands in the Imperial Valley of California and in Lo Ancrele leads the ation in the production of aircraft southwestern Arizona needed only irrigation water to and oil-field equipment. It ranks second in automobile become fruitful. T hus, men were lured by the waters of a embly and production of rubber goods. the river to seek their fortunes in these areas. H oover Dam stepped up its wartime energy output 5 0 The river was tapped for water to irrigate the land. percent to drive more than half of the war plants in But in its uncontrolled state, the mighty stream took its outhern California, southern evada, and Arizona. Its ve ngeance upon the hopeful farmers. Spring floods re­ overloaded generators ran steadily to keep wheels turn­ peatedly washed away their crops. Then, tantalizingly, ing in . hipyards. airplane factories, mines, rubber works, the river during the late summer and fall faded to a mere and the great Basic Magnesium plant. Hoover D am trickl e as if in derision of man's pitiful efforts. generated more than 16 billion kilowatt-hours of wartime Plectrical energy. Peace brought no let-up in the demand The pioneers were not easily discouraged. They fo r its po,,·er. dared to dream of a day when the river would be made Over half a million desert acres in southern California to do their bidding. Cries arose for control and con­ and Arizona have become a land of perpetual harvest servation of the river's resources. As each early attempt Arizona Spi llway Tunn el ' ince H oover Dam has released a dependable irrigation ended in failure, the people demanded action. In 1922 ~ u pp l y . Fre h fruits and vegetables grown there are representatives of the Federal Government and of the 50 ' Diameter 2200 ' in length hipped in the winter to virtually all of the nited States. :;even States in the Colorado River Basin met at Santa The All -American Canal, a part of the Boulder Canyon Fe, . Mex., to draft a compact for the division of the project, erve more than 400,000 acres in the rich Colorado's waters. Imperial Valley of California. An additional 75,000 to In 1928 the Congress passed the Swing-Johnson bill­ 80.000 acres in the Coachella Valley will ultimately known as the Boulder Canyon Project Act- authorizing receive Colorado River water from the recently con­ the Boulder Canyon project. The compact was ratifi ed -,tructed Coachell a Main Canal, a branch of the All- by 1930, and construction of H oover Dam was begun by merican Sy tern. When the Gila project near Yuma, the Bureau of Reclamation in 193 1. The dam was com­ . riz .. i. completed, 1 r 5 ,000 acres there will receive water. pleted 5 years later, and, for the first time in history, ome 56,000 acres on the Yuma projec t, 2,000 acres on man h ad succeeded in controlling the Colorado River. the 'r uma auxiliary project, 56,000 acres in the Palo On April 30, 194 7, the Congress enacted Public Law 43, \"erde \ alley, and 15,000 acres of Indian lands near which officially changed the dam's name from Boulder Parker, Ariz., were irrigated with Colorado River water to H oover. in 1949. No. 27400 Today Hoover Dam stands as a mighty sentinel, keep­ Food and fi ber grown with H oover-conserved water ing guard over the entire lower river basin. Lying made a great war contribution and will continue to prO\·ide peacetime wealth. calmly behind the dam are the blue waters of Lake THIS DRAWING shows how H oover D am works. and as high as a 20-story building. T welve period when H oover D am wa under co truc­ A large new recreational area has been created by the M ead- waters which once carried destruction and The Nevada wall of Black Canyon of the Colo­ units rated at 82,500 kilowatts, one a t 40,000, tion, now are u ed in the penstock a d outlet devastation. Crossing the mountains and deserts are dam. wh ich is vi ited by nearly a million people each year. rado River is shown solid, but the Arizona wall and two 2,400-kilowatt station service units, system for the greater part of their le gths. column. of transmission lines which deliver billions of has been cut away to reveal the intake towers, bring the present installed capacity to 1,034,800 Good fi bing and other wildlife attractions abound. T hey have been plugged upstream from the kilowatt-hours of electric energy to the industries of the the spillway, the pcnstock pipes, and outlet kilowatts. Space is available for installing three nder supervision of the National Park Service, recrea­ point at which the continuously useful oudets growing Southwest. Downstream the river offers its works. Inside the Nevada wall of the canyon a m ore 82,500- and one 50,000-kilowatt units, tional facilities a re steadily improving at Lake Mead. waters fo r the irrigati on of thousands of fertile farms and similar set of diversion works has been placed. which will raise the capacity to a total of enter them, a can be seen in the drawing. Primarily as a re ult of H oover Dam, Colorado River to millions of people in the coastal cities for domestic Principal dimensions are shown. 1,332,300 kilowatts. A ro dway across the crest of the dam fonns water is available to 28 cities in southern California use. These benefits are the real significance of Hoover The powerhouse, here shown dwarfed in the T he tunnels origina'. ly used to divert the an important link in the transcontine ta! high­ served by the M etropolitan Water District's aqueduct. D am. bottom of the canyon, is two city blocks long Colorado River around the dam site during the way system. A branch of the aqueduct reaches to San Diego. GUIDED TOUR

THE BuREA of Reclamation maintains Parties are taken through the huge guide ervice facilities through the dam structure and an explanatory lecture and power plant every day of the year. is given by the guide while on tour. In The dam is open between the hours of addition to the guided tour of the dam, 8 a. m. and 5 p. m. an exhibit building is open to the visitor.

IRRIGATION POWER

Water is the lifeblood of the arid West. Hoover Dam is one of the world's largest Without irrigation, agriculture is almost im­ hydroelectric power p roducers. Of basic im­ possible, for large acreages below H oover portance is the fact that the power is low­ Dam receive only a few inches of rainfall cost, serving as a boon to industrial expan­ annually. Several hundred thousand acres sion and to ease the daily burdens in thou­ are already irrigated and in p roduction. sands of homes. The ready sale of this en­ The warm winters and regulated water ergy is the p rimary factor which has made From arid d esert ...... to flourishing fie lds Black Canyon in 1930 Hoover Dam today supply have combined to make this section the project financially successful. of the country an outdoor greenhouse from LAKE MEAD · which trainloads of vegetables roll to north­ The U-shaped power plant nestles at the BOULDER CITY ern and eastern markets during the winter foot of the dam. The late President Franklin Boulder City, Nev., is one of the most un­ Engineers who planned the town recog­ walls of the canyons, towering as much as a months. Large field-scale production of such Beautiful Lake M ead, with its ·550 miles D . Roosevelt started the first generator on usual towns in America. Located on a sum­ garden crops as lettuce, cabbage, carrot:, nized that the high summer temperatures of shore line, was named for the late Dr. mile overhead at certain points along the September 1 I, I 936, by turning a golden key mit 2,500 feet above sea level, about seven melons, cantaloups, and other vegetables and required buildings designed and equipped to Elwood M ead, C ommissioner of Reclamation river, are truly among the greatest scenic in Washington. miles west of the dam site, it is truly a desert provide maximum comfort during the sum­ fruits, plus special trains of refrigerated cars, from I 924 to I 936. This tremendous reser­ wonders of the world. oasis. With a population of about 4,000, it m er months. Therefore, practically all pub­ have brought midwinter variety to family voir, created by Hoover Dam, nestles peace­ The long warm season of the year attracts Now installed, or on order, in the power is m odern in every respect, with schools, lic buildings are of the Sp anish-typ e archi­ tables all over the Nation. Other specialty plant are I4 generators each rated at 82,500,­ churches, homes, tree-lined streets, spacious tecture so common in warm climates, and are fully among the magnificent canyons along thousands of recreationists to the dam and crops grown under dependable year-round kilowatt capacity, one 40,000-kilowatt unit, parks, and thriving business establishments. air-conditioned. T he winters are mild and the Colorado River. Boulder, Travertine, lake for swimming, boating, and fishing. irrigation include dates, tangerines, and one 50,000-kilowatt unit, and two 2,400- many homes are heated entirely by electricity. Iceberg Canyons, and the lower end of Grand With its sandy beaches, its boat concessions, grapes. Large acreages of alfalfa, flax, and Boulder City was designed as a construc­ Canyon, defied n early all of man's attempts and bountiful stocks of fish, the lake offers other field crops, as well as cattle brought kilowatt station service units. These will pro­ tion camp for the p ersonnel engaged in All land in the town is owned by the Fed­ to reach them prior to the building of u nusual opportunities in all water sports. from arid ranges for feeding, are less dra­ vide a generator capacity of I,249,800 kilo­ building Hoover Dam, but, unlike the usual eral Government, and it is leased to home construction camp, it was planned to afford owners or those awarded business permits. Hoover Dam. Now they are easily acces­ The recreational area on and around the matic but quite important for a balanced watts, and they are driven by turbines to­ all n ecessary conveniences to its residents. Thus, the Government retains ownership and sible by boat up the stilled waters of the lake is under the supervision of the National irrigation farming. taling 1,742,000 horsepower. Space is re­ supervisory control. Since the Government Modern conveniences were designed for lake and river. The rugged and colorful Park Service. In I949 the Palo V erde Valley, 200 miles served in the Nevada wing of the plant for retains ownership of the land, no land taxes the town from the very beginning. The downstream from Hoover Dam; the Yuma an additional 82,500-kilowatt unit. are levied, but land rent is collected in lieu rough desert was leveled and landscaped, and Gila projects, another I oo miles down­ of taxes. Administrative responsibility of the Hoover Dam's hydroelectric plant is ca­ trees and lawns were planted, and a water stream ; the Imperial Valley irrigation dis­ town rests with the Director of Power of the supply provided . The water system includes Boulder Canyon project. trict 80 miles to the west in California; and pable of producing enough electrical energy a m odern filtration and treatment plant. the Coachella Valley north of the Salton Sea to meet the combined n eeds of the cities of T oday, visitors to Boulder City find a man­ Modern sewage and lighting systems were had more than a half million acres under Boston, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D . C . made oasis in the h eart of a barren desert, installed. svmbolic of all Reclamation services. cultivation. With all units installed, its capacity will be D evelopment is continuing on the Gila sufficient to m eet the combined energy re­ project in Arizona where 30,000 acres quirem ents of D etroit and Los Angeles. were under irrigation in I 949, and in the Coachella Valley where 24,000 acres were The United States has executed contracts irrigated during the same year. I n both of for disposal of all of the firm and secondary these areas, water pumped from wells was energy generated at the plant until I987. used on m uch of the land, but underground The fi rm energy output now approximates 4 supplies are rapidly being depleted. M ore­ billion kilowatt-hours annually, and it has over, on part of the Gila project, well water been estimated that 84I million kilowatt­ is becoming too salty for continued crop pro­ hours of secondary energy will be available duction. When construction now underway each year until I 987, which is the end of is completed, 115,000 acres on the Gila the amortization p eriod. project and 75,000 to 80,000 acres in the Coachella Valley will receive Colorado River The city of Los Angeles and the Southern water from the mighty storage reservoir be­ C alifornia Edison Co. operate the generat­ hind Hoover Dam. ing equipment under contract.

Boulder City, oa sis of the Western desert, is one of America's most modern towns Lake Mead lies q uiet, but never idle, in the C olorado River canyons behind Hoover Dam DOMESTIC WATER RIV ER FLO W The aqueduct of the M etropolitan Water Water diverted through the $220,000,000 - -,-=------Di £ t!·.ic~-o--n1i aqueduct from Havasu L ake is availaLl e and Snows in the mountains m elt in the spring, deep ) , Lake Mead can impound about twice downstream from H oover D am, delivers useful only because Hoover Dam has regu­ water from H ava u Lake to Los Angeles and sending torrents of water down the C olorado the average annual flow of the river. Before lated and harnessed the Colorado River. to 27 other coastal mu .icipalities. The San River. As much as 22 0,000 cubic feet of constructio n of Hoover Dam, the river dried Without this ample water source, it would Diego aqueduct, constructed by the avy D e­ not have been possible for the coastal cities water per second have been known to flow to a trickl e during the long, dry seasons of partment in I 9+5 and I 946, taps the M etro­ to accommodate the enormous influx of down the river, and there is evidence of summer, fall, and winter. Now the ri\"er politan Water Di trict's aqueduct at the out­ people and industry during the war. The fl oods as great as 300,000 second-feet. With below H oover Dam is controlled throughout let of the an J acinto T unnel. and delivers aqueduct could supply sufficient water for a capacity of 3 I,047,ooo acre-feet (an acre­ the year, thus insuring a stable water supply water to the an Vicente R e e~oir, a part of the needs of a pop ulation almost double that foot being sufficien t to cover an acre I foot the year round. Water makes farming possible Power makes living worth while the an Diego city water upply s\·stem. now living in southern California. POWER AND WATER PAY THE BILL LIKE ALL Reclamation multiple-purpose projects, H oover ery and equipment, and are to be repaid, with 3 percent The 1948-49 gro pm,·er rev nues were approximately Dam is a self-supporting ventur . The total cost of the intere t, over 50-year periods starting at such time as $9,200,000. Operation and maintenance co t- re erves dam and power plant is being repaid to the United State the facilitie were first put into service. Repayment of for replacing project facilitie , and amortization of aener­ Government almost entirely through the sale of electrical the flood-control costs has been deferred, without inter­ ating facilities are all financed from re ve nu e~ recei,·ed. energy. A small contribution toward repayment is e t, until after June 1, 1987. The Boulder Canyon project has contract to furnish being made through water-storage charges. H oover Dam's earnings are financing payments of power to ihe citie of Los Ang !es, Pa adena. Burbank The estimated cost of constructing the dam, power $300,000 per year each to Ne\'ada and Arizona, in lieu and Glendale; the Metropolitan ,\.ater Di rict of plant, and appurtenant works totals · 1 73,900,000, of of taxc . O\·er a 50-year period. Furthermore, $500.000 Southern California, the Southern Cali fornia Edi~on Co., which $25,000,000 has been allocated to flood-control er year goes to the Colorado River Development Fund Ltd .. the California Electric Power Co .. and the tate of features. for surveys and further Colorado River development . Arizona and _- ernda. The project al.so ,erve power to The major part of the nonflood costs is to be repaid, A of M ay 31, 1949, H oover Dam had paid the Trea - Boulder ity. with 3 percent interest, over a 50-year period ending ury of the United States a totd of $52,956,300 for appli­ June 1, 1987. The remainder of these costs pertain to cation to interest and princip.tl, including advance pay­ Contrach have been mad!' with variou tate and local Industrial use of power helps pay costs purchase and installation of power generating machin- ments by certain allottees. bodie. for' orrui:e .md deli' t:~ of water from Lake Yiead. C ontrolled wa ter disposa l prevents floods A.LL-AMERICAN CANAL, NATION'S GREATEST, MAKES DESERT LANDS PRODUCTIVE THIS, AMERI CA' s greatest irrigation canal, serves 400,- the canals and laterals who use water from the canal 000 acres of rich desert land in the Imperial Valley, will pay for this expenditure in interest-free install­ one of the most productive areas in the world. An­ m ents over a period of years. other 75,000 to 80,000 acres of land in the Coachella The great expanse of green alfalfa and lettuce fi elds, Valley will receive Colorado River water when acreage the rows of cantaloups, grapes, and other crops along to be served by the Coachella M ain Canal, a branch the canal, are quite a contrast to the barren valleys of of the All-American C anal, and its distribution laterals early days. In December I 905 the untamed Colorado is brought under cultivation. R iver broke through, a nd for r 7 months poured its Although tapping the Colorado River at Imperial floods across the fertile Imperial V alley farm lands, Dam, 300 m iles downstream from Hoover Dam, this causing untold damage and creating the Salton Sea. great canal system is a part of the Boulder Canyon Today the New R iver Gorge and the glistening sea project approved by the Congress in I 928. Started remain as reminders of the river's menace. in 1934, the canal was in operation in I 940, in time to contribute to the Nation's record war food pro­ ow the I mperial V alley each winter, when farm duction. Built by the Bureau of R eclamation, the All­ lands in other areas are idle, ships vast amounts of American Canal System includes Imperial Dam and fresh produce to markets all over the Nation. It is desilting works, the 80-mile-long All-American Canal, one of the few areas in the Nation enjoying a I 2-month and the I 23-mile Coachella Canal now under con­ growing season. Because of irrigated lands such as struction. the Imperial V alley, all America cats green foodstuffs The Imperial Dam and desilting works have been throughout the year at reasonable prices. designed to divert and desilt a maximum of I 5, I 55 T he All-American Canal furnishes the Imperial cubic feet of water per second, which is equal to the V alley with a silt-free, reliable water supply. The flow of a good-sized river. Three power drops along canal runs nearly half its length through irrigated the canal are utilized to generate electrical energy. farm s that once were barren desert-a tribute to man's The canal of sky-blue water is an impressive sight ingenuity in working hand in hand with rn.tture. The as it winds across the desert from Imperial Dam south old Alamo Canal, which loops through territory of the to a point near the M exican border. It then swings R epublic of M exico, formerly supplied water for lands west just north of the international boundary, extend­ on both sides of the border. With completion of the ing to the western edge of the irrigated section of the All-American Canal, the Alamo supplies water solely I mperial Valley in southern California. Part of this on lands in Mexico and, by terms of the recently rati­ route is through a ridge of shifting sand hills, Io miles fi ed treaty with M exico, that country will receive water wide, which challenged the utmost skill and ability from the All-American Canal at certain seasons of the of the engineers during construction. Farmers along A section of the All-American Canal being built to carry precious water lo thirsty soil The All-American Canal winds through lands made productive by its life.giving cargo- water year. ye