Aerial Vegas: Man-Made Wonders from the Sky

Lake Mead, Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge and Hoover Dam

A different kind of power plant… hydroelectric…is just a short drive from Nevada Solar One. Of course, we're talking about Hoover Dam. This man-made wonder continues to generate enormous amounts of electricity for Arizona, California, and Nevada. That’s despite the fact that continually-dropping water levels have dramatically changed the appearance of Lake Mead.

Man-made Lake Mead has shrunken in both depth and width, with shorelines crawling far inward throughout the past several years. The entire Lake Mead Marina had to be relocated in 2008 as the water disappeared. It was floated two miles downstream to join Las Vegas Marina. This was a huge effort that moved hundreds of boats, slips, a restaurant, and a store at the pace of 1 mph.

The Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge took five and a half years to construct at a cost of $240 million. Designed to alleviate traffic flow across the top of Hoover Dam, the massive structure is, unfortunately, a popular choice for suicides. About 15,000 automobiles cross the bridge each day, which connects Nevada with Arizona.

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