The Hoover Dam

US 93 passes over the Colorado via the top of Hoover Dam, which provides the only crossing point for hundreds of miles. The roads on both sides of the river are very steep, narrow and winding and the approach from either direction is equally dramatic.

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Call 1-800-338-4719 or Email us at Info@LasVegasBus.com.

Black Canyon: The Black Mountains to the east and the Eldorado range to the west are twisted and devoid of vegetation but also quite colourful, and they provide an impressive backdrop to the dam. At the time of construction, Hoover Dam was the largest in the world and it is still an amazing structure and a marvel of engineering - a huge wall of concrete 660 feet thick at the base and 726 feet high set between the walls of Black Canyon with its associated strangely-angled pylons, wires and machinery. In 1955, the dam was selected as one of the Seven Modern Engineering Wonders in the USA by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

To book a tour and see this location or any other locations in the Southwest of your choice
Call 1-800-338-4719 or Email us at Info@LasVegasBus.com.

Tours of the Dam: New visitor facilities have recently been constructed although parking is still limited, especially for large vehicles which have to use overflow areas on the Arizona side. Forty minute guided tours are available down into the dam and around the generating rooms inside. They used to begin via elevators on the top of the dam itself and generally required only a short wait, but now the entrance is through the new visitor center; estimated waiting time 2 hours.

To book a tour and see this location or any other locations in the Southwest of your choice
Call 1-800-338-4719 or Email us at Info@LasVegasBus.com.

The Spillway Channel: If the wait for the tour is too long, it is still well worth walking across the dam to see the various parts of the structure, including the huge spillway channel (50 foot diameter) on the Arizona side intended to take excess water if flood conditions exist. This has only been used twice since the dam was built, most recently in 1983 when record flows along the Colorado caused potentially dangerous water levels to build up.

To book a tour and see this location or any other locations in the Southwest of your choice
Call 1-800-338-4719 or Email us at Info@LasVegasBus.com.

Jet Flow Gates: The speed of the water coming out of each of the lower gates at maximum flow was calculated at 120 miles per hour! At maximum opening, each gate discharged about 28,424 gallons of water per second. That's enough water to fill the average backyard swimming pool in less than one second!

The upper gates are situated 180 feet above the river. Water from the gates shoots across the canyon to strike the wall on the other side. The water exits the gates at 120 feet per second, or 83 miles an hour. When all four upper gates are in operation they could fill an Olympic size swimming pool, 500,000 gallons, in three and a half seconds.

To book a tour and see this location or any other locations in the Southwest of your choice
Call 1-800-338-4719 or Email us at Info@LasVegasBus.com.