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A view from a helicopter ride over the Hoover Dam One of the main sightseeing attractions in Las Vegas is the magnificent Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam is among the greatest modern engineering projects. The construction of the Dam occurred from 1931 until its completion in 1935. Blocking the Colorado River created two lakes, the first being Lake Mead in 1935 and the second being Lake Mohave with the completion of Davis Dam in 1950. Hoover Dam is a testimony to a country's ability to construct monolithic projects in the midst of adverse conditions. Built during the Depression; thousands of men and their families came to Black Canyon to tame the Colorado River. It took less than five years, in a harsh and barren land, to build the largest dam of its time. Now, years later, Hoover Dam still stands as a world-renowned structure. The Dam is a National Historic Landmark and has been rated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders. During the construction of Hoover Dam there were few jobs that equaled the high visibility of the high scaler. A man hanging hundreds of feet in the air on the side of a deep canyon, knocking away loose rock and setting dynamite charges with a jackhammer sparked romantic images of courage and daring. |
