Is Hoover Dam the biggest dam in the US?

Rising 726.4 feet, Hoover Dam was the world's tallest dam when it was built in the 1930s. These days, it's the second-tallest dam in the U.S., having been surpassed by the 770-foot-high Oroville Dam in Northern California in 1968.



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Today, the Hoover Dam is the second highest dam in the country and the 18th highest in the world. It generates more than four billion kilowatt-hours a year -- that's enough to serve 1.3 million people! Here's how this dam stacks up against some of the biggest dams in the world.

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With a volume of 142,000,000 cubic meters, the Tarbela Dam is the largest earth and rock fill dam in the world and stands 147 meters above the Indus riverbed.

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They stretch for some 124 miles (200 kilometers) along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze and are renowned for their scenic beauty. The dam is some 1.4 miles (2.3 kilometers) long and 607 feet (185 meters) tall—five times larger than the U.S.'s Hoover Dam.

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World's Tallest Dam Today, Hoover Dam still ranks in the top 20 of the tallest dams in the world, but only in the concrete gravity and arch categories. Many other rock and earthfill dams have surpassed Hoover in height.

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Think of it as a giant Lego set, with over 200 blocks fitted together to stand 726 feet tall. The Hoover Dam has been called the Eighth Wonder of the World, comparable to the Great Pyramids of Egypt, and “a vision in the desert.”

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Hoover Dam is made from a whopping 6.6 million metric tons of concrete and is also curved towards its abutments, making the 'arch' that directs much of the water pressure towards the hard canyon walls, which are formed from strong volcanic rock.

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5 Dams in the U.S. that Hold the Most Water
  • Hoover Dam (Nevada/Arizona): 8.95 cubic miles.
  • Glen Canyon Dam (Arizona): 8.53 cubic miles.
  • Garrison Dam (North Dakota): 7.05 cubic miles.
  • Oahe Dam (South Dakota): 6.98 cubic miles.
  • Fort Peck Dam (Montana): 5.52 cubic miles.


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Hoover Dam is the most famous dam in the US. It was constructed during the Great Depression, beginning in 1931, and was completed in 1936. It was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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One of the most controversial aspects of the mega-project was its enormous cost for villagers who had lived for centuries on the banks of the river. To make way for the dam's massive reservoir, about 1.4 million people were uprooted, their ancestral homes demolished, communities broken up and farmlands flooded.

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A study by the World Commission on Dams placed China's large dam total at over 22,000-the most in the world. Large dams are those roughly four stories or taller. Most of China's were built after 1949.

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Bratsk Dam The second biggest dam in the world by reservoir is located in Siberia, Russia. Built between 1954 and 1964, it holds 169 billion cubic metres of water, stretching for 5.4 square kilometres. It is 125 metres high and nearly 1.5 kilometres long with a railway and a highway running along it.

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