Concrete Forms -- Hoover Dam Arizona Spillway in Arizona Wood Print

This is a view of the Arizona Spillway for Hoover Dam. The bridge is for the road that crosses the dam, the top of the spill way is in the lower right with the arc structure being where the edge of the steel drum gates pivot up to increase the dam's capacity by 16 feet of water. Beyond the bridge and not visible in this photo is a 50-foot diameter tunnel that drops 600 feet to the a horizontal tunnel that discharges water downstream of the dam. This is one of two spillways at the dam that are each capable of flowing an equal amount of water as goes over Niagara Falls.

The spillways at Hoover Dam have only been used twice - once in 1941 for testing and again in 1983 when unexpected amounts of runoff from the rivers feeding the Colorado River caused Lake Mead to rise to unexpected levels. In both cases the volume of water falling down the 600-foot spillway tunnel caused extensive damage where the water eroded away the concrete tunnel lining.

I have been photographing the things I see for over thirty years. A resident of San Luis Obispo County, I'm lucky to have many excellent photo destinations within a few minutes' or hours' drive. Beyond the local area, I have traveled throughout California and the western United States, visited far away American destinations such as Chicago, New York, Florida, and Alaska, and international destinations in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. My photography varies from Architecture to Industrial Art to Nature to Wildlife and I'm sure you'll find something suitable for your home or office. Visit my blog