Outside of China, the United States is the country with the most dams on the planet. Counting only dams taller than fifteen feet, the United States has approximately 5,000 dams ranging from giant hydroelectric dams like the Grand Coulee in Washington State to flood control dams in the Southeast and dams that provide water for l irrigation in California. Overall, the United States has 2.5 million dams of various types. The design and construction of many of these dams took place between 1930 and 1975. This 45-year period is known as the golden age of dam building, starting with construction of Hoover Dam beginning in 1931. In the 1970s the golden age of dam construction began to end with growing concerns about the impact of dams on the surrounding environment. To better understand this time period I will examine the construction of Hoover Dam in the 1930s, followed by an examination of many of today's arguments for and against dams[i]. The need for a dam on the Colorado River was known decades before construction actually began. due to numerous destructive floods of the Colorado River. The need for water and electricity to aid the development of the West was also discovered. But there were many factors hindering such a large-scale construction project. Finally, in 1927, a bill detailing the project passed Congress. Many construction firms began reviewing the proposals, but most agreed that the plan was too ambitious, too difficult, the project site was too unforgiving, and the technology was not available to build a dam of that size[ii ]. located in Black Canyon, on the Colorado River, about thirty miles southeast of Las V...... middle of document ......economic impacts of the dam, impacts of removal, and economic costs.Notes [ i] Davy, Emma. “Robofish” Current Science March 2, 2001: 10.[ii] http://www.hooverdam.usbr.gov/[iii] http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA98/haven/hoover/front2.html [ iv] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/hoover/5 Robbins, Elaine. “Damn dams.” And January 1999: 14.6 Franklin, Chris. “Let the Colorado River run free.” Earth Island Journal Spring 1997: 23.7 http://www/irn.org/8 “Not so fast; Removal of dams; Why dams can be green." The Economist March 3, 2001: 4.9 Wade, Beth. “Tear down the dams”. American City and County June 1999: 8.10pm “Tear Down the Dams – A Good Year for Alewives.” The Economist July 29, 2000: 32.11 http://www.saveourdams.com/12 McMahon, Richard Jr. “Let's Not Damn Dams.” The economic newspaper January 28, 2000: 47.