Hoover Dam Turbine Runner

This cast steel turbine runner (water wheel), which is 14.2 feet in diameter and weighs over 34 tons, powered the N-7 generator at Hoover Dam Power Plant from 1944 to 1982. The function of a turbine runner is to convert the force of falling water, delivered through the penstock pipes, to rotating energy which is then utilized by the generator in producing hydroelectric energy. This turbine runner was presented to the Boulder City Museum and Historical Association on April 30, 1983, by the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Marker is at the intersection of Colorado Street and Nevada Highway, on the right when traveling west on Colorado Street.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources:

HMDB