Big Surf

America's first big wave pool opened in the desert. Fifteen gates dumped 50,000 gallons of water at once to make each wave.Phil Dexter's wave pool in Tempe, Arizona opens 24 October 1969: 15 hydraulic gates dump 50,000 gallons in 1.7 seconds. Later an ASME engineering landmark; closed 2020. Point Mallard, Alabama follows in 1970.