Hoover+Dam

The Construction of the Hoover Dam
Many people came to Las Vegas in the hopes of landing a job during the Great Depression. The job was this: help build the largest concrete structure in the world. People came by the tens of thousands, only five thousand landed jobs. These men were set to work in rough conditions, often around the clock. The officials say only 96 died during this effort, but the men who worked there say the death tally reached the 100s. The workers had to drill tunnels to divert the river and then set huge slabs of concrete. The tunnels were often filled with poisonous carbon monoxide and many workers became ill. Drill teams quickly got their way through the bedrock, successfully diverting the river. In order to set the concrete quickly and properly, Frank Crow the architect behind the project, designed a system of pulleys to carry large buckets of concrete to the workers. In order to cool the concrete, he also put a system of pipes inside the structure to carry river water through it. The Hoover Dam was finished 2 years ahead schedule and is one of the largest structures in the world.

Google Maps--Hoover Dam
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