engineering achievements. However the dam that rose from the floor of Black Canyon

was not only a structural accomplishment, it was a proposition firmly rooted in

practicalities. The necessity of such a dam had been obvious for more than two

decades. The Colorado River's cycles of drought and flood in the American southwest

incapacitated the growth of the agricultural industry. It was felt that a dam that could

control the river would also provide hydroelectric power, eventually rendering the dam

self-financing. The growth of Las Vegas and Southern California as major metropolitan

centers also depended, to a large extent, on the availability of water and power. Almost

from the beginning of its construction, the dam possessed an epic quality that

stimulated the national imagination. It was apparent that the meaning of the dam itself

was beyond even that of a structure that equaled the vast landscape it inhabited. The

dam, and the people who built it , began controlling nature in a new and powerful way.

Although construction actually began on the Hoover Dam in 1931, site testing

for the project had begun early in the 1920's. In 1927

conditions on the job, it would be something of a publicity faux-pas to display a model

passed, it became a living hell. The average temperature in July was 119 degrees.

concrete. This technique made the dam entirely one piece. The dam itself was

forgotten in the original plan were added to open in the fall of 1932. A newspaper, the

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2354
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)