Our escapades & adventures... visiting the World...: Las Vegas Day 1

Hoover Dam Powerplant Tour

The Powerplant Tour is one way to see, learn and appreciate what Hoover Dam is all about; another available option is the Dam Tour. The Powerplant Tour includes admission to the Visitor Center and powerplant only; the Dam Tour includes admission to the Visitor Center, powerplant, and passageways within the dam itself. It takes about two hours to discover all the features at Hoover Dam.

Hoover Dam

Inside the Powerplant

After exiting the Theater, join the queue on this same level to enter the Hoover Dam Powerplant. From here, a 70-second elevator ride takes you 530 feet down through the rock wall of Black Canyon to begin a 30-minute guided tour. You'll exit the elevator into a tunnel drilled in the 1930s for construction, and take a short walk to the Penstock Viewing Platform.

Penstock Viewing: This location is atop one (of four) of the huge 30-foot-diameter pipes that can transport nearly 90,000 gallons of water each second from Lake Mead to the dam's hydroelectric generators. An animated display helps describe the complexities of the construction of the dam, and how it presently operates.

Powerplant Generators: A quick elevator ride up to the Nevada powerplant balcony takes you to a panoramic view of the 650-foot-long Nevada wing of the powerplant and eight of the dam's 17 huge generators. Also, don't miss the beautiful and intricate terrazzo floor designs under your feet. A great spot for pictures!

Turbines

Visitor Center - Observation Deck Level

The Observation Deck: You can access this top floor of the Visitor Center by taking either the stairs or elevator adjacent to the entrance of the Exhibit Gallery. This floor includes open and enclosed observation areas that provide panoramic (and camera-worthy!) views of Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, the Colorado River and other features. On the open/outside deck, an audio presentation offers significant facts about the dam and its surroundings. Inside, view a model of the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge that is presently under construction, and a sculpture portraying many of the benefits that Hoover Dam gives to the Colorado River Basin states.

Arizona & Nevada border on bridge

Street Level Displays and Exhibits

Winged Figures of the Republic: This bronze masterpiece is directly across the street from the Visitor Center. A presentation at this site discusses the concepts the artist had mind in creating the statues, as well as details related to the "star map" at its base. A detailed compass framed by the signs of the Zodiac, and bronze seals of the seven Colorado River Basin states are also featured in this area.

Nevada and Arizona Spillways: On each side of the dam (toward the lake) are huge spillways that designed to direct high water from Lake Mead around the dam through tunnels in the canyon walls. The spillways are so large that a World War II battleship can be floated in each one!

Dam & Lake

The Nevada Intake Towers: On top of the Nevada side of the dam, an audio presentation offers information about the role these towers have in Hoover Dam's power generation process, and details about some of the artwork incorporated into the towers on the downstream face of the dam.

Top of the Dam: A walk along the sidewalks on top of the dam provides awe-inspiring views of the dam face, Lake Mead, the intake towers, the Colorado River, and other features around the dam site.