Geology of the World's deepest dam, Parker Dam Arizona

[@Buriedtreasurerocks]

I love all those dam rocks and the dam earth they come from. So dam cool!

[@trippingtommy3691]

Thanks for the lesson, next time I run up to Havasu I'll have a greater appreciation for the dam.

[@TheNuclearGarage]

Fascinating. Thank you.

[@PrincessStarrr86]

LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!! really hope you decide to do one on the kingman arizona area and the oatman area and the roadway up that way....tons of stuff out there too!!

[@sandmaker]

Thanks for showcasing Parker Dam. Most people have no idea where it is let alone that it's so deep. Cool geology. Love the area. 😊 😷⚒

[@wolfstar_productions]

I so remember it for when in 1968, our Boy Scout group went there to camp - on the California side. I know we were close enough to walk to the Dam.

[@chrisfry1768]

Please do a video on St Francis dam

[@DaveGunderson]

I had been headquartered at Parker Dam for 25 years. The Bureau of Reclamation runs it, not MWD which most people assume. Parker Dam was built right after Hoover was completed. Many of the work crews followed Frank Crowe (who built Hoover) to Parker and then on to Shasta Dam. Parker Dam was an interesting place to work at. It serves a unique purpose in impounding Lake Havasu for water distribution for MWD, CAP and users downstream. All Dams down river from Parker are referred to as ‘Diversion Dams’ and contain a fraction of the water impounded. Half of Parker’s Generation is used to pump water for MWD’s canal system. In my tenure at Parker Dam (1992-2018) there had been many upgrades to the infrastructure to make the plant more efficient. One other notable thing I can tell you is that a couple of the Dams down river are not built on solid bedrock. Imperial and Laguna Dams come to mind here.

[@BobbySanders-bf2fr]

Great job....

[@1sec2midnight]

You take us to some very thrilling and unbelievable places. Your videos are enlightening. Thanks for sharing.

[@nancygaxiola5412]

Thank you, I never knew a lot of the information you shared with me!

[@rickscott8756]

When I was a kid, back in the early 90's -People were allowed to tour the powerplant without an escort! You could walk around in there on the elevated walkways etc, pressing buttons that triggered recorded narration about the dam and the different things you were looking at along the way.

[@martinshields5673]

Same as Davis Dam near Laughlin.

[@larryaldrich4351]

There was a swell self-guided tour at the dam that had to be closed on account of terrorist fears.

[@parterojerry]

I lived with my Uncle & aunt 1959-61 @ Jean Camp, MWD which is 3 miles West of Parker Dam & accessible by making a left turn about 600 feet before you get to Parker dam, California side. I went to Parker High school when I was 16-17 years old. Parker High is about 16 miles South of the dam in Parker, Arizona. I learned a lot while I was there, because I am totally curious about everything around me. I believe most of the reason for building Parker dam, was to generate enough Electricity to lift the water from Lake Havasu, over the mountains West of the dam to Lake Mathews in Riverside County, where the Colorado River water is distributed to many Southern California cities. There are 5 huge Pumping plants named Intake, Jean, Iron Mountain, Eagle Mountain & Hayfield which lift the water between Lake Havasu & Indio, California & those 5 pumping plants can consume ALL of the Electricity that Parker dam can Generate. After Indio, the water is still high enough to flow by gravity to lake Mathews. If you have ever driven on interstate or I10 Freeway East of Indio, a bit East of the Sharaco Summit gas station, you can see the Hayfield Pumping plant, which is at the base of the mountains North of the I10 Freeway. Today, that great system runs at a reduced capacity, because in the 1980's Arizona sued California & won to get their share of the Colorado River Water.

[@laynelair2233]

Nice little vid!

[@maryelmaguire3161]

I lived at Parker Fam for 5 years. My dad was a power plant operator here. So I have been all through this dam. We lived on the California side at the government camp Parker Dam. We also watched them bring in the London Bridge piece by piece. So we saw how Havasu changed. My mom said it was a 5 year vacation. You would love going to Grand Coulee Dam in eastern Washington State. The geological aspect is incredible. Now that is a sight to see. Before building the dam men got down on their knees and polished all the granite that the cement was going to be poured on. I’m glad you said how important electricity is important. Grand Coulee Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in the USA and North America. It use to be the largest dam in the world. Also about 22 miles from Grand Coulee Dam is called Dry Falls. Use be bigger than Niagara Falls. This whole area was formed from the Missoula floods. The whole area is called The Columbia River Basin. There are a total of 14 dams on the actual Columbia River not counting the tributaries. 3 of those are in Canada. My dad worked at the oldest, the deepest and the largest dams. I just found your channel and I’m enjoying very much. I use to go rock hounding with my mom and grandpa. My grandpa had such a huge rock collection it was incredible. Also collected geodes and dinosaurs fossils. This was in the 30, 40s and 50s. He was a member to so many rock and gem clubs. My mom has a lot of his rocks.

[@JosePena-wf3cq]

As a born and raised local, I found your comment and story very interesting and intriguing. I wish I could hear more

[@allanbacon2977]

Great I just learned the same information the government released to the public.

[@CandSMINING]

Worked on the Parker dam in the past. Very interesting equipment in that dam.😎😎⛏⛏🔥🔥

[@howradbankston3484]

Yeah I was told that they have an armored vehicle it comes in with two security guards and they go inside the dam and they bring something out everyday???

[@howradbankston3484]

Great Video 😇 Elley

[@fixingthingswithstrings]

Damn it, I just drove by there and I had no clue!!!

[@Dianne-warrior]

I lived at Parker Dam 20 years ago on the Arizona side and moved from California. I worked at the Roadrunner and at Black Meadow Landing on the California side.

[@trwent]

You lived in the dam?

[@moonjumper66]

Breakfast at roadrunner...

[@plateauman8907]

Loved the video. I'm from TN and there are dams everywhere thanks to the TVA. The first one was Norris Dam. I thought it was huge until you opened my eyes 🤯 It's amazing to see what we can do with concrete and steel. The planning and execution had to be such a headache. The world we know today wouldn't be the without them.

[@howradbankston3484]

Did you know there's a crevasse that runs straight down the middle of Lake Havasu used to be able to see it on Google maps and Google Earth but now they hide it! But don't worry I took plenty of screenshots and I've got it on my slideshow here on KZbin

[@modulator7861]

Cool! Had no idea about this!

[@Barasforlife]

Echovn reference

[@plantingseedsproductions4195]

That was a Dam good video.

[@janjohannessmith7033]

Wow,,!

[@tolson57]

I had no clue.

[@dalekimbrell9567]

I don’t know how they figure Parker Dam is 320 feet, but Oroville Dam is 770 feet by my math Oroville beats Parker

[@fixingthingswithstrings]

There's a difference between the tallest and the deepest, like she said the Parker dam is only 85 feet tall, but is 325 feet deep.

[@dalekimbrell9567]

@@fixingthingswithstrings well, when Oroville lake is at it’s fullest like it is now. The bottom of the dam is the deepest point of 900 feet. 🧐

[@MrMackievelli]

Let's put it in simpler terms for you. Parker Dam has more dam below ground than any other. We aren't talking Lake DEPTH or Dam HEIGHT which you seem to be confused about.

[@danielsteinberg7698]

@@MrMackievelli Yep

[@Mr2eyedjack]

Very interesting, I don't have a clue as to the math on calculating. But I would guess that it would only be on the depth difference on the water level on each side that would be the main difference. Someone with some actual knowledge should weigh in on this. Tha ks for the video. My brother lives in partker. So I've been over the dam once. Lol..

[@CGT80]

It was all covered in the video. If you didn't understand, then you probably didn't pay attention very well. She even showed a diagram of the proportions vs. the depth of the lake and river.

[@Vishant_kr_14]

❤hi

[@markymark959]

Wow! So informative. I live in Havasu and had no idea the dam was 235 feet continuous below the base. Holly Molley