Print this page Hoover Dam: Conqueror of the Colorado
J.M. Syken
Course Outline
We will examine the history of the Colorado River and the early attempts to provide fresh water from the untamed river for irrigation via canals in the early 20th Century. As well, we will review the need for a high dam in a deep canyon to harness the Lower Colorado’s tremendous potential to generate hydroelectric power, control flooding and irrigate farmland over a vast seven-state area of the Southwestern United States. The work of the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation will play a critical role in this review and the key persons (i.e. Herbert Hoover) and politics involved in passing of the Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 will be the subject of discussion.
Furthermore, we will examine the creation of Hoover Dam – from need, site selection, logistics, design, construction and operation/s. We will examine the failure of the St. Francis Dam in 1928 and its influences on the gravity-arch design of Hoover Dam and examine what design change/s would be made if the dam were built today. We will also examine the architecture of the dam and its appurtenant works and the magnificent artwork created for the great edifice. Also we will consider the dam’s environmental impacts and lasting legacy.
This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
- Understand/appreciate the catastrophic failure of the St. Francis Dam in 1928 and how it influenced the design of Hoover Dam;
- Understand/appreciate the need to control flooding of the Colorado River;
- Understand/appreciate the need to use the Colorado River’s water to provide irrigation to farmland, especially in the Imperial Valley of California;
- Understand/appreciate the hydroelectric potential of a high dam in a deep canyon and how that potential was used to finance Hoover Dam;
- Understand/appreciate the selection of Black Canyon as the site for Hoover Dam;
- Understand/appreciate the design and construction of Hoover Dam and other dams of the Colorado River system;
- Understand/appreciate the material, methods and systems used in the construction of the dam and its appurtenant works;
- Understand/appreciate the creation of the All-American Canal as tangential and critical to the creation of Hoover Dam;
- Understand/appreciate the human effort involved in creating Hoover Dam and the terrible price in lives it extracted;
- Understand/appreciate the logistics of supplying labor and material to a remote river canyon and the creation of Boulder City, Nevada – a federal reservation, to house the workforce;
- Understand/appreciate the role of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in designing, supervising and operating Hoover Dam;
- Understand/appreciate the formation of “Six Companies, Inc.” to bid-on and construct Hoover Dam as a joint-venture effort;
- Understand/appreciate the means by which hydroelectric power is generated and distributed from Hoover Dam;
- Understand/appreciate the on-going maintenance, upgrades, repairs etc. involved with operating Hoover Dam;
- Understand/appreciate the need for and creation of additional dams/irrigation projects in the Lower Colorado region;
- Understand/appreciate the role of Oskar J.W. Hansen in creating the sculptural works for Hoover Dam; and
- Understand/appreciate the lasting legacy of Hoover Dam.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for architects, engineers and other design professionals.
Benefit to Attendees
The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into the taming of the Colorado River for flood control, irrigation and power generation via the creation of one of the world’s greatest Civil Engineering wonders: Hoover Dam
Course Introduction
The course includes an in-depth PowerPoint presentation and viewing three(3) archival/documentary films;
- Lessons Learned
- Corking the Bottle
- Then & Now
Lessons Learned examines the failure of the St. Francis Dam in 1928. Corking the Bottle examines the background of Hoover Dam from site studies, enabling legislation, logistics, design, construction and operation. Then and Now examines the design of Hoover Dam from a 21st Century perspective considering what would be done the same way or differently if the dam were built today.
Course Content
In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:
Hoover Dam: Conqueror of the Colorado (printable handout in PDF, 36 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)
Hoover Dam: Conqueror of the Colorado (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 744 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)
Archival/Documentary Films;
Lessons Learned;
TITLE: Destruction of a Dam (Silent)(ca.1928)
LINK: http://archive.org/details/destruction_of_a_dam
DURATION: 08:21
Corking the Bottle;
TITLE: Hoover Dam (ca. 1930s)
LINK: http://archive.org/details/tmp_BoulderD_2
DURATION: 34:52
Then & Now;
TITLE: Megastructures – Hoover Dam Reinvented
LINK:http://watchdocumentary.com/watch/megastructures-s03e04-hoover-dam-reinvented-video_bd4a70b59.html
DURATION: 46:57
Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.
Because this course is offered as a "live" course, you are required to attend the webinar at the scheduled time and date. Please check the Webinar Schedule under course description on our website for currently scheduled meeting date and time. We will send you an invitation to the webinar through email approximately 24 hours before the webinar (confirmation of the receipt of the invitation is required). The certificate of completion will not be issued unless you attend the webinar and pass a quiz. Thank you for your cooperation.
Course Summary
Considered one of the civil engineering wonders of the world, Hoover Dam did not come-to-be without a price. It cost the lives of over one-hundred workmen and was the scene of serious labor strife, but its creation was a model of efficiency and the gold standard by which future dam projects would be built. The taming of the Colorado changed the face of the inhospitable Southwest from impoverishment to plenty. Fields irrigated by Colorado River water fed millions and water diversion/aqueduct projects quelled the thirst of cities like Los Angeles. With a series of dams controlling the flow – beginning with Hoover Dam, no longer would the seasonal floods of the Colorado reek devastation on the lower Colorado basin. Low-cost, clean electricity from the power of moving water was the bonus that not only paid for Hoover Dam, but made the Southwest an economic powerhouse. Hoover Dam truly earned the title: “Conqueror of the Colorado” in every way imaginable.
Related Links
For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:
http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Hoover_Dam
http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Colorado_River
The Story of Hoover Dam (27:37)(ca.1959): http://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.37058
Operation Glen Canyon (28:36)(1961): http://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.53945
Quiz
Before you attend the webinar, you need to print the quiz questions from your browser for your study during the webinar. At the end of the webinar, you need to complete the quiz and submit your answers to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
