# Hoover Dam will last 10,000 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 16, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241 "2018-12-16T23:02:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/1 "2018-12-16T23:02:53Z")
I was watching a YouTube video where the presenter states that; “If humans disappeared, the Hoover dam would be one of the last things standing over 10,000 years later” This thing is holding back billions of pounds of water. I can’t imagine it lasting more than a few decades without proper maintainance, let alone 10,000 years. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/2 "2018-12-16T23:06:41Z")
It might not be an effective dam for very long, but remanents of the structure would likely exist for quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/3 "2018-12-16T23:17:40Z")
10,000 years and it might be there in some form. I don’t get why it would be one of the last things standing, though. Do we not have other structures that could last 10,000 years? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/4 "2018-12-16T23:22:25Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > 10,000 years and it might be there in some form. I don’t get why it would be one of the last things standing, though. > > Do we not have other structures that could last 10,000 years? Prolly not many. 10,000 years is a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/5 "2018-12-16T23:27:01Z")
The pyramids of Egypt are approaching 5,000 years old. Hoover dam as structure will probably last 10,000 years, but at some point water is going to find a way through or around the dam, and once that starts, well, a river runs through it. I’m not an engineer, but my hunch is that even after the river has forged a new channel, there will be recognizable remnants of the dam there for a long, long time. It’s a massive engineering feat, and worth a visit if you haven’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/6 "2018-12-17T01:21:43Z")
The internal bits regulating water flow will fail first. Then the river will flow underneath it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/7 "2018-12-17T01:29:06Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > The pyramids of Egypt are approaching 5,000 years old. Hoover dam as structure will probably last 10,000 years, but at some point water is going to find a way through or around the dam, and once that starts, well, a river runs through it. I’m not an engineer, but my hunch is that even after the river has forged a new channel, there will be recognizable remnants of the dam there for a long, long time. It’s a massive engineering feat, and worth a visit if you haven’t seen it. Is it unique in any way that would indicate it would be one of the last remaining things in 10,000 years? What about other dams in the world? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/8 "2018-12-17T04:03:14Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > The internal bits regulating water flow will fail first. Then the river will flow underneath it. I need to get out my DVD of Life After People, in which this issue was addressed. I seem to remember, like the poster above, that internal filters would clog with growth and debris, eventually blocking flow and causing damage that would make the dam fail. Don’t remember the timeline but it was more(I think) on the order of a couple hundred years. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/9 "2018-12-17T04:23:53Z")
Considering the rate at which the Colorado is drying up, the dam might outlast the river. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/10 "2018-12-17T04:27:45Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Do we not have other structures that could last 10,000 years? Well, there’s [Meadowcroft Rockshelter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowcroft_Rockshelter), which a substantial number of people believe is already 16,000 - 19,000 years old. No big reason this won’t last another 10k. Stonehenge is another good candidate. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/11 "2018-12-17T04:57:28Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I need to get out my DVD of Life After People, in which this issue was addressed. I seem to remember, like the poster above, that internal filters would clog with growth and debris, eventually blocking flow and causing damage that would make the dam fail. Don’t remember the timeline but it was more(I think) on the order of a couple hundred years. That’s my understanding as well. I recall that the lake behind the dam will fill with silt in 400 or so years. If the river starts flowing over the top of the dam, that’s very bad, and I would imagine would be destroyed into pieces a lot sooner than 10,000 years. Maybe if people are around to maintain it and the lake. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/12 "2018-12-17T05:11:03Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > That’s my understanding as well. I recall that the lake behind the dam will fill with silt in 400 or so years. If the river starts flowing over the top of the dam, that’s very bad, and I would imagine would be destroyed into pieces a lot sooner than 10,000 years. Maybe if people are around to maintain it and the lake. The dam has flood channels to drain excess water if Lake Mead fills up too much. They haven’t been used since 1983, because Lake Mead hasn’t been at capacity since then. [You will note the difference in color on the rocks in this recent photo.](https://media.bizj.us/view/img/10131695/hooverdamlakemead-adam-kliczek*750xx4912-2763-0-251.jpg) The whitened area is what _used_ to be underwater. The lake has been shrinking for decades because less snow is falling in the Rockies to feed the river. If this trend continues, which it _will_, it’s highly improbable that the lake will ever fill to a degree necessary to top the dam. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/13 "2018-12-17T05:14:26Z")
When I google for “hoover damn concrete” the first listing I see is [How Long Will It Take Hoover Dam Concrete to Cure? | Del Zotto Products](https://delzottoproducts.com/2017/03/15/long-will-take-concrete-hoover-dam-cure/) which is a corporate website that presents like a Hoover Dam informational site. That page does have the 10,000 year figure tho: > [@](#): > > While the dam is expected to last for centuries, engineers predict the structure could last for more than 10,000 years, surpassing most remnants of human civilization if humans were to disappear from the earth. However, they also predict the dam’s turbines without human intervention would shut down within two years. I wonder if the video in the OP is just the result of super-sloppy research? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/14 "2018-12-17T05:16:57Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Well, there’s [Meadowcroft Rockshelter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowcroft_Rockshelter), which a substantial number of people believe is already 16,000 - 19,000 years old. No big reason this won’t last another 10k. The Meadowcroft Rockshelter is a natural formation, not a human construction. Structures at [Gobekli Tepe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe) in Turkey are believed to be more than 10,000 years old. While parts of Hoover Dam are likely to still be around 10,000 years from no, “last thing standing” is too vague to have much meaning. Lots of other structures are likely to be around that long. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/15 "2018-12-17T05:17:21Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The dam has flood channels to drain excess water if Lake Mead fills up too much. > > They haven’t been used since 1983, because Lake Mead hasn’t been at capacity since then. > > [You will note the difference in color on the rocks in this recent photo.](https://media.bizj.us/view/img/10131695/hooverdamlakemead-adam-kliczek*750xx4912-2763-0-251.jpg) > > The whitened area is what _used_ to be underwater. The lake has been shrinking for decades because less snow is falling in the Rockies to feed the river. > > If this trend continues, which it _will_, it’s highly improbable that the lake will ever fill to a degree necessary to top the dam. I was talking about silt/sedimentation, not water. I would expect any infrastructure supporting the dam to also fail if not maintained, which will also limit the life of the dam. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/16 "2018-12-17T14:02:31Z")
This photo of the dam in mid-construction gives you an idea of how broad the base of the dam really is. I could see parts of this lasting 10,000 years. The dam is essentially a pyramid made of concrete. [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam#/media/File:Damforms.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam#/media/File:Damforms.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/17 "2018-12-17T14:17:37Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The Meadowcroft Rockshelter is a natural formation, not a human construction. Right. But it is a structure, occupied and modified by humans. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/18 "2018-12-17T15:09:18Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Right. But it is a structure, occupied and modified by humans. How was it modified? What structure did humans construct in the space that is still present? There are remnants of stone walls in some ancient caves, but I am not aware that such structures are present at Meadowcroft. I would only apply “structure” to something that humans actually built. I wouldn’t count a natural formation that was merely occupied. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/19 "2018-12-17T15:52:53Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#): > > This thing is holding back billions of pounds of water. I can’t imagine it lasting more than a few decades without proper maintainance, let alone 10,000 years. How much “maintenance” does a billion tons of reinforced concrete really require? Certainly the flood gates, turbines and other moving parts require maintenance. But the structure itself is largely just a big rock. It’s not like engineers have to constantly patch it to keep it from disintegrating. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241/20 "2018-12-17T16:56:14Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Is it unique in any way that would indicate it would be one of the last remaining things in 10,000 years? What about other dams in the world? My guess is where it’s at is the key. As others noted, the dam part will fail long before that, but basically the main structure should still be there for quite a while with the river simply flowing under it in more or less it’s old channel. But the dam is in a pretty geologically stable region and in what is basically a desert, so it’s not going to get the same kinds of weathering effects or plant build up and undermining effect that dams in lusher regions will get. Not sure there is a comparable dam in the world to the Hoover wrt geologically stable and arid desert region. There are some big ones in Egypt, but I think the Nile will do those in much more rapidly. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hoover-dam-will-last-10-000-years/826241.md?page=2)