Hoover Dam, USA - Photo of the Day - Round the World in 30 Days

Straddling the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona across the Colorado River, Hoover Dam is one of the world’s great engineering feats.

Constructed during the Great Depression and dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, the dam was built to control floods, provide irrigation water and produce hydroelectric power.

At the time, such a large concrete structure had never been constructed before and some of the techniques were unproven.

Today, the dam provides power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona and California and is one of the top tourist attractions for visitors to Las Vegas attracting nearly one million tourists per year.

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Hoover Dam Nevada USA — Overlooking Hoover Dam on the Nevada-Arizona border

Built as part of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project, the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge opened in 2010 and is the area’s most recent addition.

The pedestrian walkway across the bridge (where this photo was taken) offers – no pun intended – some of the best dam vantage points around.

Visiting incredible spots like this in the US reminds me that as much as I love to travel around the world, there are some pretty amazing places in my own country I still need to visit!