It’s no secret that travelers will find reasonable rates, clean grounds, spacious sites, and convenient amenities at Zuni Village and RV Campground—but you can also uncover the top seven mind blowing secrets of the Hoover Dam during your stay!
Just a little over an hour away from the Zuni resort, Hoover Dam makes an easy and wonderful day trip. Officially opened in March of 1936, over five million barrels of cement and forty-five pound of reinforcement steel made it the largest public works project of the period. It provided water to a total of seven surrounding states, harnessing needed water for growing crops.
But crops are not the only things that have grown with the rise of Hoover Dam. Secrets surround this concrete modern marvel. But are they fact…or fiction.
Jimmy Hoffa Is Buried in the Concrete of the Dam
Fiction. While no one is really sure where the infamous teamster’s body is buried, it certainly isn’t in Hoover Dam. Nor are any of the 96 men who perished during the construction of the dam.
No one is in the cement, but there is a reported case of one tragic death under it. A worker was crushed when a freshly poured cement wall toppled, pinning him beneath. Immediate efforts were made to extract him, for a number of reasons—structural integrity ranking high on the list—as any inclusion, no matter how tragic, would have jeopardized the strength of the infrastructure.
Hoover Dam Leaks
Fiction. Well, sort of. Hoover Dam doesn’t leak. It seeps. In places, the tunnel walls are wet. Dripping water dribbles down the rocks.
Professionals advise that dams, no matter their geographical location, experience seepage. The welling water is not classified as a “leak” because it is an expected part of the natural process.
In the case of Hoover Dam, natural cracks in the rock allow water to seep through from Lake Mead. The dam design routes seepage to drains and a sump pump, where it is sent to the river.
A Hidden Pyramid Lies Fifteen Miles Below the Hoover Dam Surface
Fiction. Despite conspiracy theories and a host of TikTok videos, there is no mystic black pyramid hidden in the bowels of Hoover Dam.
However, if you stand at the base of the dam and cast your eyes skyward, the dam does take the familiar shape of a massive, inverted pyramid—a concrete behemoth to rival the likes of the Great Pyramid at Giza. As one of the first man-made structures to contain more masonry than the famous pyramid, author Joseph E. Steven’s has referred to the dam as “the Great Pyramid of the American West.”
Water Flows Up at the Dam
Fact. Mr. Newton needn’t worry, though. All the laws of gravity are still in full effect at Hoover Dam. However, the structure of the dam creates such a hugely powerful updraft that the air pushes things back against gravity—including water.
The dam structure is concave, arcing like a bow. This shape accounts largely for the unique “anti-gravity” phenomenon that can be observed at the dam. When visitors attempt to pour water over the edge of the railings, the updraft immediately sends it skyward instead of following Newton’s well-known rules.
A Secret Tunnel Connects the Hoover Dam to Area 51
Fiction. A tunnel does exist, however, lying black and silent beneath the waters of Lake Mead. It just doesn’t lead to little green men. The 125-foot-long concrete tunnel runs beneath the old train hopper which was built for use during construction of the Hoover Dam and submerged once the lake formed.
Skilled divers brave enough to face the pitch can explore the 8×10 tunnel for an intense thrill. Less skilled divers may need to stick to exploring the tunnel from the less claustrophobic exterior.
Hoover Dam Is Apocalypse Proof
Fact. Well, it could restart itself after a complete power grid failure, anyway. The dam is capable of producing 2,080 megawatts of power if all seventeen of its massive generators are running at full capacity. That much energy could power 35 MILLION regular incandescent light bulbs. That’s just a regular day at the dam.
But if a disaster did take down the power grid, the Hoover Dam could re-start it all. The event even sports a nifty code name: Black Start.
Doug Hendrickson of the Bureau of Reclamation suggests, “If the whole Western power grid went down, we could bring the power grid back up.”
Train Tracks Run Along the Bottom of Lake Mead
Fact. You won’t find it on any Amtrak route, however. The tracks were a part of the train hopper system which ferried loads of larger rock to be crushed and sorted for use somewhere else.
So, take the secret out of finding a great RV travel destination and come enjoy the clean grounds, spacious sites, and convenient amenities at Zuni Village and RV Campground. Contact our helpful and courteous staff for more information on rates and availability.