Hoover Dam: A Monument of Innovation

This is Hoover Dam — a Depression-era megastructure that reshaped America’s geography forever.

Built between 1931 and 1936, it took thousands of workers braving deadly conditions

to complete. The dam blocked the mighty Colorado River, creating Lake Mead

— the largest man-made reservoir in the United States. More than 3 million cubic yards of concrete

were poured, enough to build a highway from San Francisco to New York.

Its hydroelectric power fueled the growth of cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles,

and Phoenix. Hoover Dam stands 726 feet tall — once the tallest dam in the world.

A symbol of American ingenuity, it turned desert into cities, but also forever