ABSTRACT
Determining the size and relative ranking of dams is tricky, since they can be classified in many ways. At the time of its completion in 1936 Hoover Dam was the tallest dam in the world, had the greatest power capacity, and the largest reservoir. Today it has been surpassed in all categories. For the general history of dams, see Norman Smith, A History of Dams (London, 1971); Allen H. Cullen, Rivers in Harness: The Story of Dams (Phildelphia, 1962); Julian Hinds, "Continuous Development of Dams Since 1850," Paper No. 2605, and K. B. Keener, "Dams Then and Now," Paper No. 2606, in Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, CI (1953), 489-535. See also T. W. Mermel, Register of Dams in the United States (New York, 1958).
