Hoover Dam (Missing a bit on construction techniques but otherwise fairly comprehensive)

Question 1

What year did construction on the Hoover Dam begin?

Answer 1

April 20, 1931

Question 2

What day was the Hoover Dam completed?

Answer 2

March 1, 1936

Question 3

On what river was the Hoover Dam built?

Answer 3

Colorado river

Question 4

What canyon was the Hoover dam built in?

Answer 4

Black canyon

Question 5

What was the Hoover dam referred as in construction and by the Roosevelt administration?

Answer 5

Boulder Dam

Question 6

What city was created to house the workers for the Hoover dam?

Answer 6

Boulder City

Question 7

What shape was the Hoover dam built in? Why?

Answer 7

An arch shape allowed pressure to dissipate into the canyon walls

Question 8

What two dam types influenced the design of the Hoover dam?

Answer 8

Gravity dams
Arch dams

Question 9

How were supplies brought to the Hoover Dam construction site?

Answer 9

Railway link from Las Vegas

Question 10

How were supplies moved on the construction site of the Hoover dam?

Answer 10

Ferries, cableways, trucks

Question 11

How is power generated at the Hoover dam?

Answer 11

Through turbines which spin generators, which produce electricity

Question 12

Why do the electrical towers at the Hoover Dam lean in to the canyon?

Answer 12

To separate the wires from the canyon walls. Otherwise, the iron in the walls would cause cause the electricity to conduct into the canyon.

Question 13

How does the water at the dam accelerate to a velocity fast enough to generate power?

Answer 13

Narrowing tunnels (pen-stocks) increase the pressure on the water, which increases its velocity.

Question 14

What was the original intent of the Hoover Dam?

Answer 14

1) Dam the Colorado river to prevent flooding of valuable agricultural land
2) Create enough controllable water for economic development in the Southwestern United States

Question 15

From where does the Hoover Dam obtain its water?

Answer 15

Meltwater from the Rocky Mountains

Question 16

Why was the Colorado river area difficult for early settlers?

Answer 16

Water levels fluctuated heavily due to seasonal meltwater. It would flood in the spring, then by end of summer it would dry

Question 17

In what year did a private company construct a canal system from the Colorado River to the Imperial Valley, California?

Answer 17

1901

Question 18

What was the result of the 1905 flood of the Colorado river?

Answer 18

The poorly engineered irrigation system broke and flooded the Imperial Vally, California, destroying homes and cropland, and creating an inland lake called the Salton Sea.

Question 19

Who proposed a permanent solution to the flooding of the Colorado river in 1922?

Answer 19

Arthur Powell Davis, director of the US Bureau of Reclamation.

Question 20

Was the Hoover Dam part of a larger project?

Answer 20

Yes. The Fall-Davis report recommended a series of reservoirs to control the Colorado river. The Hoover Dam was to be the largest one.

Question 21

In what year did Congress certify the construction of the dam with the Boulder Canyon Act?

Answer 21

1929

Question 22

Why was the dam called the Hoover Dam?

Answer 22

It was initially named such by Ray Wilbur, Secretary of the Interior under the Hoover Administration; Though the Roosevelt administration returned it to “Boulder Dam,” people continued to refer to the dam as the “Hoover Dam,” until an Act of Congress made it official in 1947

Question 23

Did President Herbert Hoover’s unpopularity hinder the construction of the dam? Why or Why not?

Answer 23

No. There was no shortage of labourers. This was the Great Depression, and people were desperate for work.

Question 24

Why did surveyors change the location of the Dam?

Answer 24

The location was changed from Boulder Canyon to Black Canyon because Black Canyon contained less fissures underneath

Question 25

Where did workers live for the first year of the dam’s construction

Answer 25

In makeshift camps or their cars

Question 26

What material is the dam made of?

Answer 26

Concrete

Question 27

Which corporation(s) were awarded the contract for the Hoover Dam? Why?

Answer 27

The Six Companies were a group of large construction firms who grouped together, since the project was too large for any individual company.

Question 28

Who was the foreman for the Hoover Dam? Why was he chosen

Answer 28

Frank Crowe. He was a veteran dam builder with over 20 years of experience

Question 29

What was the three-step plan proposed in 1931 to build the dam.

Answer 29

1) Construct tunnels to divert the river
2) Construct temporary coffer dams to provide a dry work area
3) Pour concrete to build the dam

Question 30

True or False: Six Companies took proactive steps to ensure good working conditions for labourers?

Answer 30

False.

Question 31

How did Six Companies respond to a strike in summer 1931? What allowed them to do this?

Answer 31

Firing 1,400 workers and hiring new ones. Six Companies could do this because there were many people needed work. There was no scarcity of labour.

Question 32

True or False: Work was completed on tight schedules as fast as possible?

Answer 32

True.

Question 33

Who was appointed mayor of Boulder City?

Answer 33

Sims Ely

Question 34

What kind of city was Boulder City designed to be?

Answer 34

Apart from it being considered a government reservation, Boulder City was a normal city with entertainment, schools, and churches.

Question 35

in what currency were Boulder City workers paid?

Answer 35

Partially in US dollars; Partially in scrip, only valid at Six Companies stores in Boulder City.

Question 36

Were alcohol and gambling allowed in Boulder City?

Answer 36

No

Question 37

Aside from providing supplies, what relation did Las Vegas have to Boulder City

Answer 37

It was a vacation ground for Boulder City residents; offered alcohol and gambling

Vegas prostitutes accepted scrip, and travelled to Boulder City to of shopping

Question 38

How many black employees were involved in the dam? Why?

Answer 38

Fewer than 1%. Discriminatory hiring practices by Six Companies

Question 39

How were black workers treated in Boulder City?

Answer 39

Poorly

Question 40

When were Black workers allowed to live in Boulder City and why?

Answer 40

1933. New secretary of the interior, Harold Ickes, was able to because Boulder City was a government reservation.

Question 41

How was the hardhat created at the Hoover Dam site?

Answer 41

To protect themselves form falling debris, workers put two baseball caps together and covered them in tar to dry. Once they were proved effective, Six Companies soon bought thousands of these hats.

Question 42

Why was the concrete for the Hoover Dam? poured in small segments rather than all at once?

Answer 42

1) The concrete would take over 100 years to dry
2) The chemical reaction concrete drying would cause a lot of heat, and make it liable to crack

Question 43

What is the name of the lake formed by the Hoover Dam?

Answer 43

Lake Mead

Question 44

How were the diversionary tunnels constructed?

Answer 44

Workmen drilled blasting holes and filled them with dynamite. A special three-story truck to hold drillers was constructed to expedite the process. After the rock was removed, the interior of the tunnels were lined with three feet of concrete.

Question 45

What was the name of the group of workers that had the risky job of smoothing the Canyon walls with dynamite?

Answer 45

High Scalers. They had one of the riskiest jobs on the site. Suspended with ropes, they drilled holes into the wall to place dynamite, swung away as the dynamite exploded, and swung back to pry away loose rock.

Question 46

What was the population of Boulder City

Answer 46

7,000

Question 47

What structures were constructed to prevent high water levels in Lake Mead from spilling over the dam?

Answer 47

Spillways