I tried to sign up for this. They were going to give me two free months. But I was going to have to put in my credit card number in order to get my two free months. That sounds like the Nigerian money scam. I won $1000000. I just have to give them $500 as a processing fee. Maybe I'm just too cynical.
2:23 Why say "white farmers" rather than something more inclusive like American farmers? Guess we don't live in a time much different than the 1920's...
And he a biz blaze channel too that is just horrible. He actually acts like a normal person allegedly. I can you imagine? Like it is almost he is working and wants wants money. How dare he. Ha ha ha
At 19:39 you have a shot of the Arizona spillway in action. The spillways have only been used twice, once in 1941 when Lake Mead filled enough to test the spillways, and 1983 after record precipitation filled all the reservoirs along the Colorado River to capacity. I got to witness the spillways in action in 1983 and it was a tremendous sight. I also lived in Henderson in the late 70's, mere minutes form the dam. My friends and I would go there often and take the tour, which as I recall at the time only cost $2.00
@ozy Were you watching? The Great Depression was in full swing, any 1 worker could be replaced in seconds by literally dozens of guys who'd gladly take the work... and the companies in charge of building it manipulated the fuck out of it!
Thanks Simon. My dad actually worked on the Hoover Dam as a teenager. He was in Roosevelt's public works program the 3 C's. My dad actually hung off the side of the dam helping to build it. It was the depression and he traveled from West Virginia for work. Hoover Dam is impressive to see in person btw.
The biggest problem with the Colorado river water pacts is that it was made in the 20s when the region was undergoing a rather wet era. Turns out that frequent drought is the more likely climate of the southwest US. Now we have two half full reservoirs along the Colorado (the other major one being Lake Powell). There's occasionally some talk about how the Glen Canyon Dam is one that should be taken down and allowing Lake Mead to take on the storage of that water. Interestingly, Glen Canyon Dam was nearly overtopped in 1983 when snow melt was so high that the system almost couldn't contain it all. Engineers used plywood to prevent the dam from being overtopped and potentially avoiding a massive disaster. and finally, I do recommend to anyone interested in the southwest's water situation to check out Cadillac Desert, which is a fascinating book on the subject
The data used for water allocation rights in the 1922 compact was wrong(well, not technically). This knowledge wasn't known until recently, when all the water agencies commissioned the University of Colorado and Northern Arizona University to do parallel studies (encompassing a 300 year period). The study showed that the original data only encompassed a 20-year period(not long enough), and that 20-year period was a wet period, which included an El Nino cycle... something not understood in that era. The data from the 20-year period was actually correct, unfortunately, I didn't cover a long enough period. Because the original data was wrong, hence the reason for the renegotiation of the current allocation rights going on, obviously trying to get the allocation rights more reflective of the actual average runoff statistics. The reason for low elevation at the reservoirs has nothing to do with Cadillac desert, it's an unfortunate reality of the global economy. BOR' own data states that 83% of the water is being used for agricultural production(shipped globally). Potable water usage in the region is still pretty minimal(and decreasing per capita). Until the new water allocations are renegotiated, agriculture has the legal right to use their allocation per the 1922 data, hence the low elevation at both of the dams. The Dam's won't recover until those negotiations are completed. Another Point, the Colorado Basin isn't designated as being in meteorological drought. The drought designations per NOAA are agricultural, and hydrological. Agricultural because there isn't enough water to supply the international demand for agriculture, and hydrological because reserves are being used to meet that demand. Lastly, if you mentioned the term "Cadillac Desert" to any of the engineers and hydrologists at BOR, they simply scoff. Cadillac desert was considered an interesting read when it was first published, it's really become irrelevant today with the advanced understanding and knowledge of water management.
Arizona is in the Mountain Time zone, but the state doesn't follow Daylight Savings Time, so when the rest of the Mountain Time Zone moves ahead for Daylight Savings, AZ stays, and Pacific DST moves "ahead". Thus, part of the year AZ is in the same Time as Pacific.
I live in New Mexico. And I didn't know we got power from that far out. What amazes me the most is if they really do make a pump to resupply the Mead. That would be something worth visiting again.
In 1996, the tour got down to the power floor. I was able to stand next to the giant generators. After 2001, you only got to a balcony overlooking the power floor. It had nicer terrazzo floors than the Niagara Mohawk power storage plant.
I was a tour bus driver for many years and often visited the Hoover Dam, along with the Grand Canyon and other points of interest in the region. What I wished you had done, for the sake of the Luddite Americans here who can't figure Metric measurements any more than cubits, is use common English/American figures. You usually do that with subtitles, but this one is missing them. So I have to get my calculator warmed up to figure out if your stats are right!
The water in Lake Mead is low, and threatens to get down to the point where the Hoover Dam can no longer generate electricity. The proposed solution is to build a pumping station to return water that has passed the dam back upstream. Powered by what?
@@Vincrand solar produce a surplus of energy during the day, much more than we might need and our grids can't store this energy. This extra energy is instead used to pump up water to be used during night and cloudy days. Think of it like charging a giant battery.
I have a pack of post cards from my grandma showing off the "Boulder" dam not long after it opened. I guess they did decide to sell those souvenirs at a loss. :p I wonder if that makes them worth more today?
The Reclamation Act of 1902 was passed to allow growing the population of the western USA. By promoting agriculture and flood control. But like many government programs it never knew when to stop building dams. By the 1950’s good dam sites were few. But there was a dam building industry to support
I've been to see the dam. I'm an engineer and I've worked on some incredible projects. It's without a doubt incredible and probably the most incredible thing that I have ever seen with my own eyes. If you haven't visited it, I would recommend it. I've heard that since 911 you can't do the tour I did in 99. If that is so, what a real shame. In any case, it truly is something else.
Simon, video idea for Business Blaze: "The Salton Sea." An irrigation disaster, turned vacation hot-spot, turned one of the deadliest "man-made" lakes in the world.
The Hoover Dam - The most effective way to create a desert city with a very ironic name (Las Vegas - the fertile earth). I visited the Hoover Dam in 2004 and I have photos of the water level a full 4 meters lower than it had been in decades.
True statement about which is more magnificent ~ the dam or the pyramids. That’s how incredible the dam actually is. It’s more incredible than any building standing today.
Interesting fact - the USA's largest uranium mines is literally up the road on the Colorado River and a few blocks from Hoover dam. The USA is trying to clean it up now. Yikes 🤪
There are thousands of dams in the US that could be converted to hydro but populations are usually too far from them and there has been a move recently to actually remove dams and let rivers flow naturally again like the big Mississippi projects in the next 20 years which will let the river return to its natural flow.
WOW It took 3,500 years for this to beat the Pyramids of Egypt in block work. 40 year earlier only the Eiffel Tower beat the Pyramids in height. Quite the record holders .
A few cathedrals in Europe, built a few centeries before the Eiffel Tower, were heigher than the Great Pyramid. Still the Great Pyramide was the highest man made structure for over 3800 years, quite stunning. Just like the fact when Julius Caesar visit the pyramids, his visit is closer to present day than to the building of the pyramids.
The 20th amendment to the Constitution wasn't fully ratified until January 1933, which meant that FDR still had to wait until April of that year to be sworn in. His 2nd inauguration in 1937 and all subsequent ones have been in January.
@M Detlef I meant the formal ceremony of inauguration following the presidential election, not merely the simple act of swearing in the president, which I do realize has occurred following the deaths of FDR & JFK as well as the resignation of Nixon. Please read the header carefully, the one that admonishes posters to be respectful, as well as the precise wording of the message before you start casually throwing around the "L" word.
I would like to know why you kept using pictures of Horseshoe Bend when referring to the Colorado River? There are a lot of other areas of the river, than the one place that is 3 miles south of Page, AZ. Horseshoe Bend is still a long ways away from Lake Mead. It is actually within the boundaries of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
When asked after FDR's death how he managed to survive the ostracism of his post-presidential years, Hoover replied, "I outlived the bastards." He died in 1964 at 90.
Hoover's term as President of the U.S. did not expire until March 4, 1933, not January. FDR was the first President whose term expired on January 20, although he continued to succeed himself until his death. Truman was the first President to leave office on January 20. See Amendment 20 to the U.S. Constitution, adopted 1933.
You have no idea why Truman re-named the dam 'Hoover Dam'. Herbert Hoover was a failed president but he was a remarkable humanitarian who singlehandedly fed Europe after World War I. Hoover was called again in 1945 by President Truman because President Truman never forgot Hoover's skill in 1918. He and Hoover were good friends. FDR (America's aka 'pope' in for life) had a vindictive Sec. of Interior Harold Ickes who did his 'massah' (FDR) bidding. He made sure the dam was called Boulder Dam.
Let me get this straight; their building a pipeline(s?), from about where the Colorado river exits into the Pacific Ocean up to the Lake Mead reservoir to fill it? I wonder how much power will be required to pump water up to Lake Mead (5%, 10%, less, more)? I also wonder are they pump only enough for the power plant to run at 100%, completely fill it (water line) or somewhere in between (marina and water sports)? I'm guessing there will be a desalinization plant at the base of this pipe so farmers can use the water (plants + salt water = plants die)?
I would imagine the volume of masonry / concrete used in Hoover Dam would have been far less than that needed to complete the great wall of China over its vast distance.
I had heard about black and brown outs on the West Coast of America, specifically Los Angeles, when I was younger. But being young I didn't really pay much attention to it and maybe kinda thought "it's America they can solve that" I'm now guessing it's down to the dropping water levels in the dam and it's gonna take at least 7 years to fix? And here I thought America and Japan ( I say these two because when I was growing it was between these two) were so much more advanced than the rest of the world they would always be OK?!?!
What would be interesting is if you'd credit Mother Nature for building the largest and arguably most impressive Natural Wonder on the entire planet. The Grand Canyon. Using only the Colorado River to literally carve it out of solid rock. PS Technically, neither The Hoover Dam or The Grand Canyon are complete. Concrete is still curing inside the structure of the dam, and it is estimated that it will be doing so for approximately 300 years. The Grand Canyon will only be finished when the Colorado River no longer courses through and carves the canyon out.
I've always been anti-dam and especially anti-Hoover dam, but this video made me even more so. It's so gross how many people lost their lives building it and I don't love that it's considered a marvel. The natural areas around the dam are so much more amazing and beautiful and I'm very angry about how it was ruined by all this concrete and the bathtub ring around Lake Mead, and also how the dam wrecked the ecosystem of the Colorado River. I wish they'd just destroy the damn thing, no pun intended. (I know, I know, it's way more complicated than that and I know they won't get rid of it during my lifetime, but I can dream.) Can you guys now do a video about the Glen Canyon and how awful that one is too? Even sadder than Hoover, considering the beautiful canyon that it completely obliterated.
The saddest thing I learned on the tour was how the son of the 1st man who died building the dam was the last man to die building it. It's an amazing structure that provides much needed resources but if I had any idea what the area had looked like previously. How everyone got along. I'd probably agree with you. I generally think that people are so busy trying to see if they can they don't stop to think if they should. Very sad.
It can also bring extinction. There is a specific type of fish that lives in that river. That fish only breeds during a flood when the water is very muddy. Back in the 90's (I'm not entirely sure) environ-mentals brought this information to the right people and when it was time, they opened that dam wide open to simulate a flood. It was a resounding success since nobody knew if an artificial flood would act like dinner and a movie for these fish in the way a natural flood does. As q-ball pointed out, the levels of lake Mead have been dropping for some time now and the continuous drought only looks like it's going to get worse. Any gains in water levels made by seasonal flooding are too precious to let go just so some fish nobody really knows or cares about can have a regrettable night in the back seat of a car on prom night. On the other hand, extinction is one of those things that's kind permanent no politician wants to be known or remembered for. I may have a solution that parallels the 3b$ proposed recycling plan and if it's feasible, it could provide water for many drought stricken areas but if we humans don't get our act together, then what's the point really? People incapable of personal responsibility should stop bringing new life into this world. Look at all the bums in major metropolitan areas. Those were children once. They had hopes and dreams for the future. Look at them now, all grown up, foraging for food in dumpstets, using the sidewalk to deposit liquid yellow and solid brown. Ever wonder about the ratio of those walking welfare checks? How many are from responsible families who taught them how to be responsible and how many are here because of fling? How many people are sleeping on the streets because of hard work and determination vs. how many nod off using a rock for a pillow because they were raised to be victims. If my plan to get water to places suffering through prolonged droughts, am I contributing a small link in the chain to extending the life of a societal slow death? "We need water!" Incorrect. What they need are contraceptives and a purpose in life so they can avoid poor life decisions (like what gender to be today or which vice will provide best existence distraction) and focus on important things (like advancement and success) so they don't bring and condemn another human into perpetual poverty and misery. KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS, SLUTS! How many kids see themselves as becoming rich by making videos? How many children want to make the next big breakthrough in chemistry? Which group of young people do you have the highest hopes for and, (hypothetically speaking) if both groups make it to their intended goals, which group would you consider actually successful?
I've been to the Hoover Dam, it's incredibly impressive in person. Also, I'm watching this from California in May 2020 and laugh-crying at the remark about how unemployment had hit a big ol' 15%! We're at 25% now, so, you know. Whoo, so much winning. Granted, there wasn't any unemployment back then.
@@marsneedstowels Is that the lighthouse in the desert, that warns birds to stay away from the lighthouse in the desert? Or the lighthouse in the desert, that controls killer satellites? I'm interested in either one.
It won’t be giving off much heat from exothermic reactions these days , but yes, it is in fact still curing and getting harder every day .. when the dam was built and they were pouring the concrete, they actually ran pipes through the concrete slab and pumped water through them to keep the curing temperatures down so the slabs didn’t crack (cracks in a dam are no bueno lol), then once they were set , they filled the pipes with concrete
“We came, we saw, we feared, we cemented all our problems, we were happy, we realized it’s Arizona, we saw it crack, and crack even more, and finally it broke, we saw it break, we saw it flood, we saw it take away our children, we saw our wife’s drown, but seconds before we were taken away by the current, we discover: BUD LIGHt And we forgot about all our problems, we bought guns, we shot guns, we drank bear, we made steak, we realized were American not Italian.....”
@Not One Of Us : Idiotic username, someone who needs to live behind a mask, BUT no one lives by the Hoover Dam. Within some miles, not far, I suppose, by surely not by the dam. When I visited with a cousin in 1995 there wasn't any residential property in sight. You, in Az., are closer than Bostonians, New Yorkers, ..., but this doesn't mean that you reside within just a few minutes walk from this dam. You could reside in Az. 100 or more miles from this dam.
Please say more or delete this. "The most rememberable part of the dam's history is when the Courier had Yes Man yeet General Oliver off the side in 2281." First, what is "yeet" supposed to be? Meet? Greet? Get? Perhaps most of the word is deleted... Second, the Hoover Dam is not old enough for an event happening in 2281 to have been any part of it's story.. yet. You might want to say who or what the Courier, Yes man, and "yeet General Oliver" is, and what "off the side" refers to? Off the cliffs? the dam? Into the Lake? the River? who, what, the real when and perhaps even why. I assume this is a murder so, a reference would be nice. I am so confused, i could write a (fictional) story off your post in so many directions it would be freakish, possibly science fiction based (time travel included) and would definitely have to include karma! But i am sincerely curious now - so please take a minute and tell us more to explain. Or just delete it.
@@julieenslow5915 But seriously if you're lost it's a reference to the video game Fallout: New Vegas. In one of the many possible endings you (the Courier) can have a Robot named Yes Man throw (yeet is slang for throwing) a leader of a rival faction off the dam at the end of the game.
I'm a 3rd gen vegas local and iron worker. I always love it when someone shows some love to buildings that either me or my family had a hand in building. I worked on the bridge in 2010, my dad built the newer power lines in the 80s and my grandpa did a bunch of the upgrades that went up in the 70s. This was a awesome video to watch, thank you for putting it out there.
I second (third?) this! Very interesting subject, I've seen several different documentaries and specials on them, but would love to see Simon and the crews take on it.
@@firstnlastnamethe3rd771Reality check incoming: Have you ever talked to someone else than your parents irl? Please get just a little, little self-respect so people don't have to read these completely desperate attempts to get attention from someone with a pfp of a female. Seriously, take a long look at yourself and ask if you are so depraved of human contact that it seems like a good plan to write a comment like yours. No one wants to see such pathetic behavior anywhere on the internet or irl so please get serious help to build up your self-worth. Thank you. /Everyone
The Colorado River rarely reached the Sea of Cortez. It only made it that far during a year of flooding, hence the reason why it was built to begin with. BOR does the "pulse" every so often to mimic flooding for environmental reasons.... thus benefiting the estuary in northern Mexico.
"I was a dam builder, across the river deep and wide; Where steel and water did collide. A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado; I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below. They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound; But I am still around, I'll always be around" -From the song "Highwayman"
To anyone that hasn't visited the Hoover Dam in person - It is absolutely phenomenal in scale and effect. Really amazing. Especially if you're afraid of heights like I am
Hey Simon you should do Newgrange next. It's a massive Neolithic structure in Ireland that's older than the Pyramids (the oldest one being the Pyramid of Djoser at 2600 bc)and Stonehenge(3000bc) being built in 3200 bc. And it has a door with a roof box above it that perfectly aligns with the sun on the Winter solstice and a roof so well made that it's still waterproof to this day. Archaeologists are baffled on how these people were able to build such a sophisticated structure before the advent of writing and the crane and how advanced their knowledge of the cosmos and the exact alignment of the sun was. Shows how skilled my ancestors were in construction techniques,lapidary design, mathematical calculations and astronomical observation.
its not older than the pyramids, if you believe they are less than ten thousand years old you are way off. the ancient greeks asked the ancient egyptians who made the pyramids and they said they were from a previous time unknown to them. they arent tombs either btw 😅
jacks smirking revenge jacks smirking revenge But the Geographics video on the pyramids states that the first pyramids were built around 2630bc. Also isn't Herodotus notorious for his inaccuracies?
@@jackssmirkingrevenge9365 The ancient Greeks lived more than another 1000 years after the pyramids were built, so a regular Egyptian at the time would probably have no clue how and why these were built, and they might already become legendary buildings from an "unknown" time surrounding myths. Since most of them also couldn't read the Hieroglyphs and language evolves, it's assumable that they don't know more than we do, despite living next door. If the pyramids were indeed way older, how can we pinpoint one pharaoh who was supposed to built it? Wouldn't multiple Pharaohs claim them as their achievement and tomb or did all competitors suffer from damnatio memoriae?
Simon, this was a very informative vdo reguarding Lake Mead, did you know that there is a B-29 bomber at the bottom? I lived in Las Vegas for 20 years and it was common knowledge to most residents. Anybody can take a guided tour of the dam, it is really something to see.
Tour guide: Welcome to the Hoover Dam. Today I will be your dam your guide. If you have any dam questions, please hold them until the end of the damn tour. Cousin Eddie: Yeah, where can I get some dam bait?
I would love an overview of the Sulton Sea, and its current and past issues. The potential environmental impacts remind me a lot of the aftermath of the Dust storms of the 30's. There are a lot of videos out there with a lot of difference in their "Facts" I would love to see your overview on it.
I've swam and fished in Lake Mead and visited the Hoover Dam. This was late 1980's. The dam is an amazing site to behold. I was just a kid when I last saw it, and it is forever emblazoned in my memory.
I grew up in Yuma AZ and I remember the name change. My parents just said, hope this doesn't change again, not really caring what the name was or is. Water out of the tap (faucet) in Yuma is so silted and salty, it is undrinkable. People buy water from desalination stations around town now. Part of the Hoover Dam project was to supply Los Angeles with water. They had to cut back on that when the Central Arizona Project was implemented. A canal from Yuma to Tucson - and people in Tucson were appalled at the quality of the water. Now that water is allowed to seep into the almost completely depleted aquifer under Tucson, hoping that it will be somewhat rendered drinkable via sand filtration. I won't ever move back to southern Arizona in part, because too many people live there already and it has killed the ecosystems.
My family just went to the Hoover Dam today, it was my cousin's first time there. As a Nevada native, I'm very proud of this feat of engineering. Sad you didn't talk about the O'Callagan-Tillman Memorial Bridge overlooking the dam, that bridge is also major engineering marvel.
Thank you, Skillshare! The first 500 people who click the link will get 2 free months of Skillshare Premium: skl.sh/geographics
I tried to sign up for this. They were going to give me two free months. But I was going to have to put in my credit card number in order to get my two free months. That sounds like the Nigerian money scam. I won $1000000. I just have to give them $500 as a processing fee. Maybe I'm just too cynical.
2:50 You have created meme worthyness. "KILL THEM ALL"
2:23 Why say "white farmers" rather than something more inclusive like American farmers? Guess we don't live in a time much different than the 1920's...
Geographics You're a good doobie, Simon.
And he a biz blaze channel too that is just horrible. He actually acts like a normal person allegedly. I can you imagine? Like it is almost he is working and wants wants money. How dare he. Ha ha ha
At 19:39 you have a shot of the Arizona spillway in action. The spillways have only been used twice, once in 1941 when Lake Mead filled enough to test the spillways, and 1983 after record precipitation filled all the reservoirs along the Colorado River to capacity. I got to witness the spillways in action in 1983 and it was a tremendous sight. I also lived in Henderson in the late 70's, mere minutes form the dam. My friends and I would go there often and take the tour, which as I recall at the time only cost $2.00
The most amazing fact about the Hoover dam? It was a government project that was done ahead of schedule and under budget
incredible 😆
Only took 96+ people to die for this accomplishment too.
cody collins not possible
@ozy well they cared about the half that were white and male and had money anyway.
@ozy Were you watching? The Great Depression was in full swing, any 1 worker could be replaced in seconds by literally dozens of guys who'd gladly take the work... and the companies in charge of building it manipulated the fuck out of it!
Thanks Simon. My dad actually worked on the Hoover Dam as a teenager. He was in Roosevelt's public works program the 3 C's. My dad actually hung off the side of the dam helping to build it. It was the depression and he traveled from West Virginia for work. Hoover Dam is impressive to see in person btw.
Thank you for sharing! How cool must it be to have such a personal connection to this marvel of architecture!
The biggest problem with the Colorado river water pacts is that it was made in the 20s when the region was undergoing a rather wet era. Turns out that frequent drought is the more likely climate of the southwest US. Now we have two half full reservoirs along the Colorado (the other major one being Lake Powell). There's occasionally some talk about how the Glen Canyon Dam is one that should be taken down and allowing Lake Mead to take on the storage of that water.
Interestingly, Glen Canyon Dam was nearly overtopped in 1983 when snow melt was so high that the system almost couldn't contain it all. Engineers used plywood to prevent the dam from being overtopped and potentially avoiding a massive disaster.
and finally, I do recommend to anyone interested in the southwest's water situation to check out Cadillac Desert, which is a fascinating book on the subject
The data used for water allocation rights in the 1922 compact was wrong(well, not technically). This knowledge wasn't known until recently, when all the water agencies commissioned the University of Colorado and Northern Arizona University to do parallel studies (encompassing a 300 year period). The study showed that the original data only encompassed a 20-year period(not long enough), and that 20-year period was a wet period, which included an El Nino cycle... something not understood in that era. The data from the 20-year period was actually correct, unfortunately, I didn't cover a long enough period. Because the original data was wrong, hence the reason for the renegotiation of the current allocation rights going on, obviously trying to get the allocation rights more reflective of the actual average runoff statistics. The reason for low elevation at the reservoirs has nothing to do with Cadillac desert, it's an unfortunate reality of the global economy. BOR' own data states that 83% of the water is being used for agricultural production(shipped globally). Potable water usage in the region is still pretty minimal(and decreasing per capita). Until the new water allocations are renegotiated, agriculture has the legal right to use their allocation per the 1922 data, hence the low elevation at both of the dams. The Dam's won't recover until those negotiations are completed. Another Point, the Colorado Basin isn't designated as being in meteorological drought. The drought designations per NOAA are agricultural, and hydrological. Agricultural because there isn't enough water to supply the international demand for agriculture, and hydrological because reserves are being used to meet that demand. Lastly, if you mentioned the term "Cadillac Desert" to any of the engineers and hydrologists at BOR, they simply scoff. Cadillac desert was considered an interesting read when it was first published, it's really become irrelevant today with the advanced understanding and knowledge of water management.
Arizona is in the Mountain Time zone, but the state doesn't follow Daylight Savings Time, so when the rest of the Mountain Time Zone moves ahead for Daylight Savings, AZ stays, and Pacific DST moves "ahead". Thus, part of the year AZ is in the same Time as Pacific.
My great uncle was an engineer for the Hoover Dam, his namesake on a plaque. Savage, J. L.
I live in New Mexico. And I didn't know we got power from that far out. What amazes me the most is if they really do make a pump to resupply the Mead. That would be something worth visiting again.
In 1996, the tour got down to the power floor. I was able to stand next to the giant generators. After 2001, you only got to a balcony overlooking the power floor. It had nicer terrazzo floors than the Niagara Mohawk power storage plant.
14:50 - Quick correction: Hoover left office on March 4, 1933. All subsequent planned presidential inaugurations have taken place on January 20.
I was a tour bus driver for many years and often visited the Hoover Dam, along with the Grand Canyon and other points of interest in the region. What I wished you had done, for the sake of the Luddite Americans here who can't figure Metric measurements any more than cubits, is use common English/American figures. You usually do that with subtitles, but this one is missing them. So I have to get my calculator warmed up to figure out if your stats are right!
The water in Lake Mead is low, and threatens to get down to the point where the Hoover Dam can no longer generate electricity. The proposed solution is to build a pumping station to return water that has passed the dam back upstream. Powered by what?
"Solar powered pumps" its said in the video!
Anyway it's a stupid idea. You'll need to generate more energie to get the water up there than that you get back.
@@Vincrand solar produce a surplus of energy during the day, much more than we might need and our grids can't store this energy. This extra energy is instead used to pump up water to be used during night and cloudy days. Think of it like charging a giant battery.
@@Swansniff2 in that case it would make sense depending ofcourse on the amount that would be wasted otherwise.
@@Vincrand divert the "wasted" energy to surrounding areas. as its in basically the desert its mostly sunny in phila...oops
I have a pack of post cards from my grandma showing off the "Boulder" dam not long after it opened. I guess they did decide to sell those souvenirs at a loss. :p I wonder if that makes them worth more today?
Growing up in Arizona in the 90s my grandparents used to say, "It's Boulder Dam, because Hoover wasn't worth a dam."
The Reclamation Act of 1902 was passed to allow growing the population of the western USA. By promoting agriculture and flood control. But like many government programs it never knew when to stop building dams. By the 1950’s good dam sites were few. But there was a dam building industry to support
Me: "hah, now all they gotta do is build the dam thing"
Simon: "now all they had the do was to build the dam thing"
I've been to see the dam. I'm an engineer and I've worked on some incredible projects. It's without a doubt incredible and probably the most incredible thing that I have ever seen with my own eyes. If you haven't visited it, I would recommend it. I've heard that since 911 you can't do the tour I did in 99. If that is so, what a real shame. In any case, it truly is something else.
The Dam Puns are Just Inevitable
8:49 very punny Simon, very punny 😂
Hitman is a great series
You forgot my two favorite facts:
1. It’s wider at the bottom than it is tall and
2. Cement inside is still drying
Simon, video idea for Business Blaze: "The Salton Sea." An irrigation disaster, turned vacation hot-spot, turned one of the deadliest "man-made" lakes in the world.
The Hoover Dam - The most effective way to create a desert city with a very ironic name (Las Vegas - the fertile earth).
I visited the Hoover Dam in 2004 and I have photos of the water level a full 4 meters lower than it had been in decades.
True statement about which is more magnificent ~ the dam or the pyramids. That’s how incredible the dam actually is. It’s more incredible than any building standing today.
Interesting fact - the USA's largest uranium mines is literally up the road on the Colorado River and a few blocks from Hoover dam. The USA is trying to clean it up now. Yikes 🤪
That mans radio voice is like smooth jazz lol.
Simon, you're already conquering RUclips; you don't need Instagram as well.
There are thousands of dams in the US that could be converted to hydro but populations are usually too far from them and there has been a move recently to actually remove dams and let rivers flow naturally again like the big Mississippi projects in the next 20 years which will let the river return to its natural flow.
WOW
It took 3,500 years for this to beat the Pyramids of Egypt in block work.
40 year earlier only the Eiffel Tower beat the Pyramids in height.
Quite the record holders .
A few cathedrals in Europe, built a few centeries before the Eiffel Tower, were heigher than the Great Pyramid. Still the Great Pyramide was the highest man made structure for over 3800 years, quite stunning. Just like the fact when Julius Caesar visit the pyramids, his visit is closer to present day than to the building of the pyramids.
There are many time 1.6 million people. The people that built the dam had no Idea it would serve so many
The 20th amendment to the Constitution wasn't fully ratified until January 1933, which meant that FDR still had to wait until April of that year to be sworn in. His 2nd inauguration in 1937 and all subsequent ones have been in January.
@M Detlef I meant the formal ceremony of inauguration following the presidential election, not merely the simple act of swearing in the president, which I do realize has occurred following the deaths of FDR & JFK as well as the resignation of Nixon.
Please read the header carefully, the one that admonishes posters to be respectful, as well as the precise wording of the message before you start casually throwing around the "L" word.
Damn I enjoyed this one ☺
Dam, me too!
I would like to know why you kept using pictures of Horseshoe Bend when referring to the Colorado River? There are a lot of other areas of the river, than the one place that is 3 miles south of Page, AZ.
Horseshoe Bend is still a long ways away from Lake Mead. It is actually within the boundaries of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
Calm down Karen, you're going to break out in pimples.
I came, I saw, I killed legionaries (I looted. Cant forget the loot)
When asked after FDR's death how he managed to survive the ostracism of his post-presidential years, Hoover replied, "I outlived the bastards." He died in 1964 at 90.
Hoover's term as President of the U.S. did not expire until March 4, 1933, not January. FDR was the first President whose term expired on January 20, although he continued to succeed himself until his death. Truman was the first President to leave office on January 20. See Amendment 20 to the U.S. Constitution, adopted 1933.
Another one along similar lines: The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme in Australia, built just after WW2
Putting this on everytime at work.
Co worker came the next day: what’s today’s topic?
Lmao
It’s untrue about the time zone it’s just Arizona doesn’t use daylight savings time so for about half a year time is the same
You have no idea why Truman re-named the dam 'Hoover Dam'. Herbert Hoover was a failed president but he was a remarkable humanitarian who singlehandedly fed Europe after World War I. Hoover was called again in 1945 by President Truman because President Truman never forgot Hoover's skill in 1918. He and Hoover were good friends. FDR (America's aka 'pope' in for life) had a vindictive Sec. of Interior Harold Ickes who did his 'massah' (FDR) bidding. He made sure the dam was called Boulder Dam.
Let me get this straight; their building a pipeline(s?), from about where the Colorado river exits into the Pacific Ocean up to the Lake Mead reservoir to fill it?
I wonder how much power will be required to pump water up to Lake Mead (5%, 10%, less, more)?
I also wonder are they pump only enough for the power plant to run at 100%, completely fill it (water line) or somewhere in between (marina and water sports)?
I'm guessing there will be a desalinization plant at the base of this pipe so farmers can use the water (plants + salt water = plants die)?
Not a bad idea. Turn lake Mead into a battery to store the solar energy.
I would imagine the volume of masonry / concrete used in Hoover Dam would have been far less than that needed to complete the great wall of China over its vast distance.
So.
Learning everyday!
Wave if you've met the son of the Navajo lady, and the little brother of the baby, in the photo at 1:56.
Speaking of huge infrastructure projects how about the Rideau Canal
The Burned man Walks.
I had heard about black and brown outs on the West Coast of America, specifically Los Angeles, when I was younger. But being young I didn't really pay much attention to it and maybe kinda thought "it's America they can solve that"
I'm now guessing it's down to the dropping water levels in the dam and it's gonna take at least 7 years to fix? And here I thought America and Japan ( I say these two because when I was growing it was between these two) were so much more advanced than the rest of the world they would always be OK?!?!
Patrolling the triple A games industry almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter
But can we build a quarantine hospital in 10 days?? Laurels wilt.
What would be interesting is if you'd credit Mother Nature for building the largest and arguably most impressive Natural Wonder on the entire planet. The Grand Canyon. Using only the Colorado River to literally carve it out of solid rock.
PS Technically, neither The Hoover Dam or The Grand Canyon are complete. Concrete is still curing inside the structure of the dam, and it is estimated that it will be doing so for approximately 300 years. The Grand Canyon will only be finished when the Colorado River no longer courses through and carves the canyon out.
You should do Grand coulee in Washington
I've always been anti-dam and especially anti-Hoover dam, but this video made me even more so. It's so gross how many people lost their lives building it and I don't love that it's considered a marvel. The natural areas around the dam are so much more amazing and beautiful and I'm very angry about how it was ruined by all this concrete and the bathtub ring around Lake Mead, and also how the dam wrecked the ecosystem of the Colorado River. I wish they'd just destroy the damn thing, no pun intended. (I know, I know, it's way more complicated than that and I know they won't get rid of it during my lifetime, but I can dream.)
Can you guys now do a video about the Glen Canyon and how awful that one is too? Even sadder than Hoover, considering the beautiful canyon that it completely obliterated.
The saddest thing I learned on the tour was how the son of the 1st man who died building the dam was the last man to die building it.
It's an amazing structure that provides much needed resources but if I had any idea what the area had looked like previously. How everyone got along. I'd probably agree with you. I generally think that people are so busy trying to see if they can they don't stop to think if they should. Very sad.
Do poveglia island
Can tell where he voiced over a mistake 15:02
World's best dam
The site where the East and the West clash
Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter
And not flooding the shit out of everything lmfao
It can also bring extinction. There is a specific type of fish that lives in that river. That fish only breeds during a flood when the water is very muddy. Back in the 90's (I'm not entirely sure) environ-mentals brought this information to the right people and when it was time, they opened that dam wide open to simulate a flood. It was a resounding success since nobody knew if an artificial flood would act like dinner and a movie for these fish in the way a natural flood does. As q-ball pointed out, the levels of lake Mead have been dropping for some time now and the continuous drought only looks like it's going to get worse. Any gains in water levels made by seasonal flooding are too precious to let go just so some fish nobody really knows or cares about can have a regrettable night in the back seat of a car on prom night. On the other hand, extinction is one of those things that's kind permanent no politician wants to be known or remembered for. I may have a solution that parallels the 3b$ proposed recycling plan and if it's feasible, it could provide water for many drought stricken areas but if we humans don't get our act together, then what's the point really? People incapable of personal responsibility should stop bringing new life into this world. Look at all the bums in major metropolitan areas. Those were children once. They had hopes and dreams for the future. Look at them now, all grown up, foraging for food in dumpstets, using the sidewalk to deposit liquid yellow and solid brown. Ever wonder about the ratio of those walking welfare checks? How many are from responsible families who taught them how to be responsible and how many are here because of fling? How many people are sleeping on the streets because of hard work and determination vs. how many nod off using a rock for a pillow because they were raised to be victims. If my plan to get water to places suffering through prolonged droughts, am I contributing a small link in the chain to extending the life of a societal slow death? "We need water!" Incorrect. What they need are contraceptives and a purpose in life so they can avoid poor life decisions (like what gender to be today or which vice will provide best existence distraction) and focus on important things (like advancement and success) so they don't bring and condemn another human into perpetual poverty and misery. KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS, SLUTS! How many kids see themselves as becoming rich by making videos? How many children want to make the next big breakthrough in chemistry? Which group of young people do you have the highest hopes for and, (hypothetically speaking) if both groups make it to their intended goals, which group would you consider actually successful?
I've been to the Hoover Dam, it's incredibly impressive in person. Also, I'm watching this from California in May 2020 and laugh-crying at the remark about how unemployment had hit a big ol' 15%! We're at 25% now, so, you know. Whoo, so much winning. Granted, there wasn't any unemployment back then.
NCR *Heavy breathing intensifies
15:02 Fancy editing. :P
Great video
"Where in the hell is the damn dam tour!?"
Vegas, baby....
At least the one I went on. It was amazing!
WHOA! WHERE DID THE WATER GO? I seen it 10 yrs ago and it looks like someone pulled the plug!
Overuse, lack of snow and rainfall
and then Boulder City was exploded to defeat Ceasar's army at the first battle of Hoover Dam
TRANSFORMERS AND MICHAEL BAY TOLD US THE REAL REASON IT WAS BUILT
The Hoover dam was built to house alien robot transformers. I learned that in the movie...Transformers.
LOL
Hey, there's nothing wrong with calling it the Kaiser dam...just the rest of that name.
How many channels can one guy present? Dude you are over exposed! 😂
Roses are red
Ads I hate
The video resumes
At 10:38
*slaps roof of Hoover Dam*
This badboy can fit so much power, it can power the strip and the entire Mojave wasteland
"Wasteland"?!
What do ya think this is?
The place they filmed
"Mad Max"?
The first one, because they
did film the new one, here.
@@firstnlastnamethe3rd771 The dam is humongous and Humongous rules the wasteland.
@@Full-Metal-Jason
You mean "Lord" Humongous?
The Ayatollah of Rock & Rolla?
Yeah, I seen em around.
May I interest you in a Helios One solar power plant?
@@marsneedstowels
Is that the lighthouse in the desert, that warns birds to stay away from the lighthouse in the desert?
Or the lighthouse in the desert, that controls killer satellites?
I'm interested in either one.
i cant stop thinking about the NCR and Ceasars legion
Neither can I. He has to mention it.
We won't back down easily. The legion can count on that.
Ave. True to Caesar.
Would someone please tell (ignorant people like me) just what the OP is alluding to?
@@listenmypeople108 what do you mean with OP ?
Here's a fun fact about the dam: it's so thick at it's base that the concrete is still technically cooling and thus getting stronger even today.
Wait really?
concrete is technically always getting stronger for hundreds of years, no matter how thick it is
It won’t be giving off much heat from exothermic reactions these days , but yes, it is in fact still curing and getting harder every day .. when the dam was built and they were pouring the concrete, they actually ran pipes through the concrete slab and pumped water through them to keep the curing temperatures down so the slabs didn’t crack (cracks in a dam are no bueno lol), then once they were set , they filled the pipes with concrete
Patrolling the Mojave makes you wish for a Nuclear Winter.
Well, aint that a kick in the head
got my big iron on my hip
NCR for life.
DAMN. Too slow
Ave, true to Caesar
"We came, we saw, we concreted"
Motto of every Italian construction worker LOL
Italians - building stuff with concrete since the Roman Age
The inventors of cement/concrete are the Italians.... Very inventive people.... :)
“We came, we saw, we feared, we cemented all our problems, we were happy, we realized it’s Arizona, we saw it crack, and crack even more, and finally it broke, we saw it break, we saw it flood, we saw it take away our children, we saw our wife’s drown, but seconds before we were taken away by the current, we discover:
BUD LIGHt
And we forgot about all our problems, we bought guns, we shot guns, we drank bear, we made steak, we realized were American not Italian.....”
I know an Italian family who's in the "concrete business" down in Naples. Hmmm.
"None of us live there."
Me, an Arizonian: "Hey!"
Not One Of Us Arizona, much like Australia is a fictional place! You can’t fool us!
Jk🤣
LOL. I live in Las Vegas, while we aren't technically downstream, I do often travel in these areas.
@Not One Of Us : Idiotic username, someone who needs to live behind a mask, BUT no one lives by the Hoover Dam. Within some miles, not far, I suppose, by surely not by the dam. When I visited with a cousin in 1995 there wasn't any residential property in sight. You, in Az., are closer than Bostonians, New Yorkers, ..., but this doesn't mean that you reside within just a few minutes walk from this dam. You could reside in Az. 100 or more miles from this dam.
*me, being born in AZ and returning to my hometown on the Strip after 16 years*
RUDE
Mike you went to the damn with your cousin in 1995? I think I saw that movie it came out a couple years later.
The most rememberable part of the dam's history is when the Courier had Yes Man yeet General Oliver off the side in 2281.
Please say more or delete this.
"The most rememberable part of the dam's history is when the Courier had Yes Man yeet General Oliver off the side in 2281."
First, what is "yeet" supposed to be? Meet? Greet? Get? Perhaps most of the word is deleted...
Second, the Hoover Dam is not old enough for an event happening in 2281 to have been any part of it's story.. yet. You might want to say who or what the Courier, Yes man, and "yeet General Oliver" is, and what "off the side" refers to? Off the cliffs? the dam? Into the Lake? the River? who, what, the real when and perhaps even why. I assume this is a murder so, a reference would be nice.
I am so confused, i could write a (fictional) story off your post in so many directions it would be freakish, possibly science fiction based (time travel included) and would definitely have to include karma! But i am sincerely curious now - so please take a minute and tell us more to explain. Or just delete it.
@@julieenslow5915 You don't know? After the great nuclear Holocaust of 2077?? Oh boy.
@@julieenslow5915 But seriously if you're lost it's a reference to the video game Fallout: New Vegas. In one of the many possible endings you (the Courier) can have a Robot named Yes Man throw (yeet is slang for throwing) a leader of a rival faction off the dam at the end of the game.
Huh, I thought the NCR claimed it for their own under the leadership of both The Courier and General Lee Oliver
@@rangamans1060 There's four different endings lol
I'm a 3rd gen vegas local and iron worker. I always love it when someone shows some love to buildings that either me or my family had a hand in building. I worked on the bridge in 2010, my dad built the newer power lines in the 80s and my grandpa did a bunch of the upgrades that went up in the 70s. This was a awesome video to watch, thank you for putting it out there.
“It’s number one hobby would’ve been bursting it’s banks, and flooding the shit out of the place”
😂
How do you flood a barren desert ? Las vegas was many miles away with a population of 200.
@@Crashed131963 It happens in a *flash*. (Pro-tip: don't camp in arroyos.)
Que muffin man music*
"All they had to do now is build the dam thing." 🤣
There's a sign there that says... PLEASE KEEP THIS DAM GATE SHUT. 😎
All I can think of is Percy Jackson with these puns
"I went to the dam to get some damn water, but there was NO dam water so I didn't get any damn water..."
"Is this a God Dam. Y'know God Dam. Heh heh" -Beavis
Q: What did the fish say when it hit a concrete wall?
A: Dam.
har-dee-har har. so funny. like a wet blanket.
Q: what did the wall say back?
A: dum bass
FALLOUT 4 CODSWORTH!
"I see. Yes Man, please throw General Oliver from the Dam."
I'd be super interested in a video about the Nazca Lines if that would work for you guys.
This needs more likes dammit
I second (third?) this! Very interesting subject, I've seen several different documentaries and specials on them, but would love to see Simon and the crews take on it.
I'm willing to make one,
if _you_ are, Heather!☝️😃
You can be myyyy...
✌️"assistant"😏✌️
*🤥•==== 👈😜•••boop*
@@firstnlastnamethe3rd771Reality check incoming:
Have you ever talked to someone else than your parents irl? Please get just a little, little self-respect so people don't have to read these completely desperate attempts to get attention from someone with a pfp of a female. Seriously, take a long look at yourself and ask if you are so depraved of human contact that it seems like a good plan to write a comment like yours. No one wants to see such pathetic behavior anywhere on the internet or irl so please get serious help to build up your self-worth. Thank you. /Everyone
Good idea
The mighty Colorado is so depleted by people taking the water, it doesn't even reach the ocean...
I'll take your word since I don't know, but it's not like there are many good alternatives.
well it does but by the time it reached the Gulf of California it's a trickle.
Who cares
The Colorado River rarely reached the Sea of Cortez. It only made it that far during a year of flooding, hence the reason why it was built to begin with. BOR does the "pulse" every so often to mimic flooding for environmental reasons.... thus benefiting the estuary in northern Mexico.
@@QuantumRift The Colorado River was always a trickle when it reached the Sea of Cortez, with the exception of the every 10-15 year flooding.
"I was a dam builder, across the river deep and wide; Where steel and water did collide. A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado; I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below. They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound; But I am still around, I'll always be around"
-From the song "Highwayman"
Great song but I roll my eyes during that verse. Lyrically compelling, factually destitute.
I always pictured that mention in the song is about a rodbuster, guy who installs the rebar.
To anyone that hasn't visited the Hoover Dam in person - It is absolutely phenomenal in scale and effect. Really amazing. Especially if you're afraid of heights like I am
I'm curious about the flood that created the Salton Sea. It'd be nice to see a video on it.
There's a pretty good video about the Salton Sea on the "Veritasium" channel.
Hey Simon you should do Newgrange next. It's a massive Neolithic structure in Ireland that's older than the Pyramids (the oldest one being the Pyramid of Djoser at 2600 bc)and Stonehenge(3000bc) being built in 3200 bc. And it has a door with a roof box above it that perfectly aligns with the sun on the Winter solstice and a roof so well made that it's still waterproof to this day. Archaeologists are baffled on how these people were able to build such a sophisticated structure before the advent of writing and the crane and how advanced their knowledge of the cosmos and the exact alignment of the sun was. Shows how skilled my ancestors were in construction techniques,lapidary design, mathematical calculations and astronomical observation.
Great suggestion. I'd like to hear that too.
WOW!!! Patricia from New Hampshire (US) 👵🏻 😳
its not older than the pyramids, if you believe they are less than ten thousand years old you are way off. the ancient greeks asked the ancient egyptians who made the pyramids and they said they were from a previous time unknown to them. they arent tombs either btw 😅
jacks smirking revenge jacks smirking revenge But the Geographics video on the pyramids states that the first pyramids were built around 2630bc. Also isn't Herodotus notorious for his inaccuracies?
@@jackssmirkingrevenge9365 The ancient Greeks lived more than another 1000 years after the pyramids were built, so a regular Egyptian at the time would probably have no clue how and why these were built, and they might already become legendary buildings from an "unknown" time surrounding myths. Since most of them also couldn't read the Hieroglyphs and language evolves, it's assumable that they don't know more than we do, despite living next door. If the pyramids were indeed way older, how can we pinpoint one pharaoh who was supposed to built it? Wouldn't multiple Pharaohs claim them as their achievement and tomb or did all competitors suffer from damnatio memoriae?
Arizona also doesn't follow Daylight Saving Time. So depending on the time of year we are either Mountain or Pacific time zone.
Not observing that fool daylight saving time is one of the few sensible policies of Arizona's.
... just to add to the confusion of course🙄
@M Detlef you're right one of the reservations in the Northeast corner doesn't
@@davidhenningson4782 far better than having to get used to getting up an extra hour early
I'm really glad you mentioned the Salton Sea! I would love to see a video focusing on it!
1:25 - Chapter 1 - The mighty colorado
4:55 - Chapter 2 - Searching for the spot
8:55 - Mid roll ads
10:45 - Chapter 3 - Construction (Part 1 / Prelude)
14:30 - Chapter 4 - Construction (Part 2 / Building's god dam)
18:15 - Chapter 5 - Into the future
I think it would be interesting to do a geographics on the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand. That cave system is fascinating
Simon, this was a very informative vdo reguarding Lake Mead, did you know that there is a B-29 bomber at the bottom? I lived in Las Vegas for 20 years and it was common knowledge to most residents. Anybody can take a guided tour of the dam, it is really something to see.
Tour guide: Welcome to the Hoover Dam. Today I will be your dam your guide. If you have any dam questions, please hold them until the end of the damn tour.
Cousin Eddie: Yeah, where can I get some dam bait?
aric lewis Haha, the first thing that came to mind!
“Where’s the damn dam tour?”
Stolen from Vegas vacation.
I would love an overview of the Sulton Sea, and its current and past issues. The potential environmental impacts remind me a lot of the aftermath of the Dust storms of the 30's. There are a lot of videos out there with a lot of difference in their "Facts" I would love to see your overview on it.
I've swam and fished in Lake Mead and visited the Hoover Dam. This was late 1980's. The dam is an amazing site to behold. I was just a kid when I last saw it, and it is forever emblazoned in my memory.
I grew up in Yuma AZ and I remember the name change. My parents just said, hope this doesn't change again, not really caring what the name was or is. Water out of the tap (faucet) in Yuma is so silted and salty, it is undrinkable. People buy water from desalination stations around town now. Part of the Hoover Dam project was to supply Los Angeles with water. They had to cut back on that when the Central Arizona Project was implemented. A canal from Yuma to Tucson - and people in Tucson were appalled at the quality of the water. Now that water is allowed to seep into the almost completely depleted aquifer under Tucson, hoping that it will be somewhat rendered drinkable via sand filtration. I won't ever move back to southern Arizona in part, because too many people live there already and it has killed the ecosystems.
Stop whining.
My family just went to the Hoover Dam today, it was my cousin's first time there. As a Nevada native, I'm very proud of this feat of engineering. Sad you didn't talk about the O'Callagan-Tillman Memorial Bridge overlooking the dam, that bridge is also major engineering marvel.
Who?
Cares
@@sargentmeatmissile-hs1us Dazedwoozey is funny as fuck.
Even Beavis and Butthead were impressed by this damn dam, so you know it has to be a sight to see...
The dam is not 221m it’s 725 ft. Because Merica! 🧐