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Hoover Dam, built between 1931 and 1936 in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on the Nevada–Arizona border, controls floods, stores water in Lake Mead and generates hydroelectric power for the American Southwest.

Hoover Dam

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The story behind the card

The dam was built during the Great Depression, when thousands of men came to the desert looking for work. By the official count, 96 workers died in accidents during construction. At 221 metres it was the tallest dam in the world when finished, and it created Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States by capacity. Its water is shared among seven US states under the 1922 Colorado River Compact, and with Mexico under a 1944 treaty. So much of the river is now taken for cities and farms that it rarely reaches the sea. In 2022, after years of drought, Lake Mead fell to its lowest level since it was first filled.

Türkçe oku
Hoover Barajı, 1931–1936 yılları arasında Colorado Nehri üzerindeki Black Canyon'da, Nevada ile Arizona sınırında yapıldı. Taşkınları önler, Mead Gölü'nde su biriktirir ve Amerika'nın güneybatısına hidroelektrik enerji sağlar.

Baraj, binlerce insanın iş bulmak için çöle geldiği Büyük Buhran yıllarında yapıldı. Resmî kayıtlara göre inşaat sırasında 96 işçi kazalarda hayatını kaybetti. 221 metre yüksekliğiyle tamamlandığında dünyanın en yüksek barajıydı ve ABD'nin hacim bakımından en büyük baraj gölü olan Mead Gölü'nü oluşturdu. Suyu, 1922 tarihli Colorado Nehri Sözleşmesi'yle yedi ABD eyaleti arasında, 1944'te imzalanan bir antlaşmayla da Meksika ile paylaşılıyor. Nehrin suyunun o kadar büyük bölümü kentlere ve tarlalara çekiliyor ki Colorado artık denize nadiren ulaşıyor. Yıllar süren kuraklığın ardından Mead Gölü 2022'de, ilk dolduğu günden bu yana en düşük seviyesine indi.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Hoover Dam
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