The Hoover Dam Might Be the Most Famous, But It's NOT the Tallest in the Country

Whether you're road-tripping or prepping yourself for your dream spot on Jeopardy!, it's essential to get familiar with the nation's most monumental dams.

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But to find those hulking structures—blockades against water made of earth and concrete— you'll need to fix your gaze west of the Rockies. When engineers seek to block up rivers to create hydroelectricity or to simply control water flow, they'll often look to the mountainous stretches of Arizona, California, Washington, and Montana.

Inside the mountainous ravines of the U.S., there are earthen walls, concrete ones, and sometimes even barricades made out of steel, all working to plug up rivers. Some have even stood for over 100 years, before the land they were on was even part of the Union.

Here's a tour of eight of the most noteworthy.