Hoover Dam, a
brief history. Herbert C.
Hoover, our 31st president, approved the funding of the construction
of the dam, then known as the Boulder Canyon Project. The goal was to build a dam across the
Colorado River on the Nevada-Arizona border to harness the power of the river to
generate electricity, fairly distribute water to several southwestern states,
and to fuel the economic growth of a burgeoning southern California. In the process, Lake Mead, the world’s
largest man-made reservoir, was created.
No one company could come up with the $5 million bond
required to bid for the contract and six companies subsequently joined together
to form Six Companies, Inc., in order to combine their resources and they were
awarded the contract. Concrete
contractors realized that if they used traditional methods for pouring and
curing concrete, it would take 125 years to cure. They used 600 miles of thin steel pipes and
wove them into the concrete and circulated ice water from a refrigeration plant
to cool the concrete. After the pipes were used, they were filled
with concrete and made the dam even stronger.
The dam was built during the Great Depression and gave jobs
to thousands of unemployed men. An
entire city, Boulder City, was built to house the workers. The early days of the project had many
workers in makeshift shanty towns made of tents and cardboard boxes, and a
strike occurred in August of 1931 to protest dangerous working conditions and
poor housing. In the summer months, workers
endured 120 degree heat and 140 degree heat in the diversion tunnels with
exposure to carbon monoxide from the machinery.
The workers demanded adherence to safety laws, better lighting, and availability
of water. Unfortunately, there was
sweeping unemployment in the country and the workers did not have any leverage
against their employers, and the strike ended after six days. The Six Companies did expedite the
construction of housing and added some safety measures. Casinos were outlawed in Boulder City and
workers were paid with special coins that could only be used in Boulder City to
discourage workers from going to casinos in Las Vegas. The last bucket of concrete was placed in the
dam on May 29, 1935 and Hoover Dam officially opened in 1936.
The Black Canyon
River Float Tour. The Sun City
Community Association offered a tour of Black Canyon on a river float raft for
$125 that included transportation by bus, shuttle bus to the launch, a
three-hour river rafting adventure and a box lunch. It was well worth the money for learning about
the fascinating features of Black Canyon, named for the black volcanic rocks
strewn about the canyon.
The Hoover Dam bypass bridge was interesting because of its
magnitude. It was the first
concrete-steel composition bridge in the United States and includes the longest
concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere.
It was named the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge and opened
in 2010. Mike O’Callaghan was the
governor of Nevada from 1971-1979. Pat
Tillman gave up his career with the Arizona Cardinals and enlisted in the U.S.
Army after the 9/11 attacks. He was
killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire in 2004 at the age of 27.
Our guide, Reid, was experienced and knowledgeable about the
terrain and history of the area. He
asked kayakers how they were doing as we passed them and had radio
communication in case help was needed. During
the tour, he pointed out turkey vultures flying about and told us to “look
alive!” as vultures like dead animals.
We saw turtles not native to the canyon, which meant that humans let
loose their pet turtles and they survived.
The only palm tree that is native to the area is the fan palm but we saw
a grove of small palms of a different species that was probably started by a
bird dropping a seed on fertile soil.
Reid pointed out red cacti that hold quite a bit of water,
but he said you’d have to get through the thorns, the skin, and then mash the
pulp in order to taste the moisture that would probably make you sick. He also pointed out rocks that flew across
the river in violent periods of geologic events. We saw waterfalls, quiet coves, and unusual
formations that told their own stories.
We also saw an unconformity rock up close that reflected a missing
interval of a geological period.
Reid did an outstanding job in maneuvering the raft and
giving us an informative narrative. We were soaking wet from the splashes from the
river but back home in dry clothes, I’m sure everyone understood the breathless
magnificence of the Hoover Dam, the triumphant taming of the Colorado River,
and the pleasures the river brings to visitors from all over the world.
I’ve blanched the sliced pieces and put them in a freezer bag so I can try out some recipes when time permits. I do have bitter melon capsules, but I’m trying to simplify my pill box.
