If you ever get a chance, go to Hoover Dam., pay the extra money and take the Dam Tour.  Go down inside the dam and walk through the diversion tunnels built in the 1930s.  It only takes a 70 second elevator ride to descend 530ft into the depths of the dam.

Then we ride back up to the viewing platform to see one of the power plants.  It is an impressive place.  These power plants provide power for cities in Arizona, Nevada and California.  There are 17 turbines altogether.

Then we were taken into a side tunnel that was built for the inspectors and walked out to a ventilation port built into the side of the dam.  Since it was only in the 60s outside, it was comfortably cool in this ventilation shaft.  Our guide told me that in the summer it could get to 120F inside this tunnel.  (Visit the dam in the winter!)

 

If you look closely you can still see the impressions of the wooden forms used to create this tunnel inside the concrete of the dam.

View from the Ventilation Tube

Take the time after your tour to walk all the way to Arizona (on the other end of the dam) and then back to Nevada.  Look over the edge and enjoy the gut squeezing sensation that comes from looking down such an incredible height.

The tour was informative and the photo ops were abundant.  Its only a 30 minute drive from Las Vegas and very much worth the drive.

 

For all the facts visit the US Bureau of Reclamation site.  https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/pao/faq.html