In 1930, construction began on the Hoover Dam, the largest of its kind at the time. Despite the remote location and harsh working conditions, it was completed in less than five years -- two years ahead of schedule -- and well under budget.

The dam is named after America's 31st president, Herbert Hoover, who played a large role in bringing the nearby states into agreement about water allocations, settling a 25-year controversy. The dam has been called Boulder Canyon Dam as well as Boulder Dam, but Hoover Dam was reinstated as the official name by Congress in 1947.

A National Historic Landmark, Hoover Dam is the highest concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere, standing at more than 725 feet above the Colorado River. With 17 generators producing 4 billion kilowatts of electricity a year, it also is one of the country's largest hydroelectric power facilities. Operation and maintenance of the facility are solely supported by revenue from power sales.

Hoover Dam history was not without its conflicts. The equitable allocation of water became a serious issue. Many feared that California would be the first to make use of the dam, and therefore, in accordance with western water laws, would claim the rights to the majority of the water. For this reason, a commission was formed in 1922 that consisted with one representative from each of the Basin states, as well as Herbert Hoover, who was the representative from the Federal Government. January 1922 marked an important month in Hoover Dam history. It was during this period that Herbert Hoover met with the governors of the Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in order to work out an equitable arrangement for the shared use of the waters from the Colorado River. As a result, the Colorado River Compact was signed on November 24th, 1922.

In 1937, the Bureau of Reclamation started conducting Hoover Dam tours through the Hoover Dam plant. If you are planning a Hoover Dam trip, you might want to consider taking one of these interesting Hoover Dam tours. In fact, the Hoover Dam Discovery Tour may well be the highlight of your Hoover Dam trip. On the theatre level of the tour, you will see maps and photos that give an introduction to the history of the Hoover Dam. In Theatre One, you will see a presentation entitled “How the West was Won.” This chronicles the contributions of the Bureau of Reclamation. Next, you can take the huge elevators 500 feet down into the wall of Black Canyon. From here, you will be able to walk through the 250-foot long tunnel that was drilled out of rock. At the end of the tunnel, you can view the 650-foot long Nevada wing of the power plant and its eight huge generators.

A tour of the dam is available and well worth the time and money spent. Called the Hoover Dam Power Plant Tour, it is broken up into several components at numerous locations, each with its own Hoover Dam expert to guide visitors. The unique tour format allows guests to pick and choose which locations they want to see and the complete tour generally lasts about two hours. The Hoover Dam Power Plant Tour begins with a brief video show depicting the history of Hoover Dam and how it came to be. Afterwards, a guide will escort you to an elevator for a 500-foot descent to get an up-close look at the power plant generators housed at the base of the dam.

Another interesting stop on the tour is an observation deck set above the dam affording panoramic views of the Colorado River and Lake Mead. The location also provides a bird's-eye view of the Hoover Dam facility, including an unobstructed look at the dam's mechanical components.

The tour continues with several stops along the top of the dam, from the Winged Figures of the Republic to the Nevada Intake Tower. All stops are marked with "Discover Hoover Dam!" signs to ensure that none is missed.

The view from the dam also offers breathtaking views of Lake Mead, the country's largest man-made reservoir. Although water levels have been low recently, Lake Mead can store up to 9.2 trillion gallons of water, equal to two years of the river's annual flow. It also has become a popular recreation area, sought out by more than 9 million visitors each year.