Hoover Dam is one of the most popular day-trip destinations from Las Vegas. Between two and three thousand people visit the incredible site each day. It's located only thirty miles southeast of Las Vegas, so there are numerous tours and buslines that go to the dam. Renting a car for the day is not a bad way to see the dam. You can take the scenic drive at your own pace and can make stops to such places as Red Rock Canyon, the Ethel M Chocolate Factory,  Cranberry World West and Ron Lee's World of Clowns.

Construction on the dam started in 1931 when it was determined that the Colorado River needed to be tamed. An army of 5,200 workers were assembled and after working 24-hours a day for five years, the project was completed (two years ahead of schedule).

The result is a concrete wall that holds back the nearly 50 trillion pounds of water in Lake Mead, the largest artificial reservoir in the country. Hoover Dam is 660 feet thick at the base,1,244 feet across, 726 high and is wide enough for a two lane highway at the crest. It was built from steel, rock and over seven million tons of concrete - enough to pave a two lane road from New York to San Francisco. However, all these staggering statistics won't mean a thing until you see the dam for yourself. The sheer immensity of the dam will make you appreciate the engineering and labor that went into the site.

Tours of the Dam are conducted daily at the Visitors Center starting at  8:30 am, with the last tour leaving at 5:15 pm. Hard Hat Tours departs at 9:00am, with the last tour departing at 4:30pm.  The regular 30-minute tour consists of a trip down through the dam to the Colorado River overlook which is at the bottom of the dam and back. Along the way,  you'll walk the tunnels that are inside the dam, see the largest water pipes ever made and observe the 17 turbines that provide electricity for the southwest United States.

Before the half-hour tour, you can see a video presentation given inside a converted turbine. The presentation is broken up into three segments and after each portion is completed, the whole room rotates to face the screen of the next portion. The segments about the importance of water, local history and the impact of the dam are rather bland, but the experience of the theater makes up for it.  Regular hours are 8:00am to 5:45pm.  Check out the website for additional information at www.hooverdam.com