Coyote Gulch was lucky enough to get a tour of Hoover Dam on December 14, 2019. Thanks so much to the Bureau of Reclamation folks for arranging the tour. Here’s a photo gallery.
Hoover Dam from the Arizona Powerhouse deck December 13, 2019. As John Fleck said in a Tweet, “Friends who have the keys showed us around this afternoon.” Thanks USBR.
One of Lake Mead’s spillways the last time water lapped at the top of the spillway was 1999.
Face of Hoover Dam from the access highway.
Emergency spillway which utilizes the bypass tunnel from construction. Biggest spill came in 1983 when water was ~5′ above the raised gate.
Downslope to the bypass tunnel.
Intake towers for power generation at Hoover Dam December 13, 2019.
Looking down from the top of Hoover Dam.
Face of Hoover Dam looking towards Arizona.
Looking down on the power plants from the top of Hoover Dam.
Access tunnel inside Hoover Dam. Mark Cook, our host, on the right.
The Hoover Dam Arizona power plant turbines.
Beautiful tile work at the Arizona power plant in Hoover Dam. Elements of Native American art and industrial influences.
Operation of the Colorado River’s second largest reservoir, Lake Powell in southern Utah and northern Arizona, will be a major piece of negotiations on the river set to start next December. Hoover Dam from the deck of the Arizona power plant December 13, 2019.
Coyote Gulch on the Arizona power plant deck in a borrowed hard hat.
Looking downstream from the base of Hoover Dam. Concrete structure in the center of the photo is the outlet for the Nevada side emergency spillway.
Looking across the Colorado River at the Nevada side from the Arizona side.
Transformers and deck on the Arizona side.
Looking up at the cable system used to drop large vehicles and equipment that cannot be moved in using the access road.
3-phase(?) circuit breaker for the Arizona powerhouse.
Coyote Gulch in a borrowed hard hat on the deck of the Arizona powerhouse at Hoover Dam on December 13. 2019.
View towards the base of Hoover Dam. The rail system is used to move large equipment.
Highway bridge from the base of Hoover Dam.
Terminus of the access road at Hoover Dam.
Arizona/Nevada border marker at the base of Hoover Dam.
Tower with sculptures of the purpose of Hoover Dam. I love the navigation purpose. Elevator to the interior of the dam is located here.
Hoover Dam schematic via the Bureau of Reclamation.