This once was vast land with nothing on it and today it is one big booming cities with lights that go on and on every night. Most of America’s power supply is generated by power plants based on oil, using fossil fuels unless the area is geographical ideal for alternative sources of power. And Las Vegas just seems to be in a very ideal area.

Just by the border of Nevada and Arizona, is where the Colorado river passes and this used to overflow after the winter season as snow melts from the rocky mountains and causes problems to farming communities below. But this problem was solved into an opportunity to make used of hydro-electrical power and the Hoover dam was constructed . Construction started in 1931 and finished in 1936 and just looking at the vast large size of the dam can put you in awe. But this is also a technology marvel as well as an economy booster. When the Nevada legislature has legalized gambling in 1931, in it’s efforts to lift the state from the Great Depression, this amazing technological construction has aided the area economically. Currently the Hoover Dam powers Arizona, Nevada, and many areas of southern California, 23.4% of Hoover Dam’s electricity generated is consumed by Nevada.

The Colorado River has a portion that was like a funnel where both sites where solid rock mountains and this small area seemed to be perfect for building a dam. And when the dam sa created, it created also the largest man-made lake because of the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead.

Photo: Wikipedia - Lake Mead
In the image above is a very far image where this big river, Colorado just looks like a thin line, and with the Hoover Dam that you can not even see well in the photo above has controlled the flow of the river making the large lake. Below is a closer satellite photograph of Lake Mead but the dam still barely visible.

Photo: Gateway to Astronaut Photography posted on Intute: Science, Engineering, Technology
You can see that large body of water all going through that small funnel like a geographical masterpiece for a hydro-electric plant.

Photo: Google Maps
Here is the Hoover Dam. You can see the 4 intake towers where water flows in. Then they go through very large tubes running inside the sides of the mountain rock and is distributed flowing downward to the power turbines below. Although the flow still has to be controlled, depending on weather conditions, there are diversion tunnels that can adjust the flow. Below is the plan of the Hoover Dam when it was constructed.

Photo: Wikipedia - Hoover Dam
Image below of the top of the Hoover Dam, which is also a bridge for automobiles.

A very big dam, can generate large amounts of electrical power. And this power plant generates power supplied to Arizona, Nevada and several parts of Southern California and imagine the power Las Vegas Nevada needs. Excellent Engineering.