Natural Wonders of the Modern World

Men and women have built numerous lists regarding the seven ancient miracles around the globe. But this “seven wonders” list celebrates monumental engineering and construction feats for the twentieth century. It was opted for by the American community of Civil Engineers.

Empire State Building. Finished in 1931, it towers 1, 250 ft over new york. Before first tower around the globe Trade Center ended up being finished in 1972, it had been the whole world's tallest building.

The Empire State Building

Itaipu Dam. Built by Brazil and Paraguay regarding Paraná River, the dam is the world's largest hydroelectric power plant. Completed in 1991, it took 16 years to construct this series of dams whose length totals 7, 744 m. It utilized 15 times more concrete compared to the Channel Tunnel.

CN Tower. In 1976, the tower became the planet's tallest freestanding structure. It looms about one-third of a mile high (1, 815 ft) above Toronto, Canada. A glass flooring in the observation deck allows you to look 342 m down seriously to the bottom.

Panama Canal. It took 34 years to generate this 50-mile-long canal across the Isthmus of Panama. The quantity of searching needed therefore the size of its locks helped ensure it is the highest priced task in United states record at that time—and the absolute most life-threatening: About 80, 000 individuals passed away during building (most from disease).

Channel Tunnel. Known as the Chunnel, it links France and England. It's 31 mi very long, and 23 of the miles are 150 ft under the seabed regarding the English Channel. High-speed trains whiz through its side-by-side tubes.

Netherlands North-sea Cover Works. Because the Netherlands is below sea level, a number of dams, floodgates, and surge barriers being created to keep the water from flooding the united states during storms. The biggest the main task ended up being a two-mile-long moveable surge barrier across an estuary completed in 1986. It is made of 65 concrete piers each weighing 18, 000 tons. It was stated that the project 's almost equal in scale on Great Wall of Asia.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Large World Photos

Golden Gate Bridge. Connecting san francisco bay area and Marin County in 1937, for quite some time this is the longest suspension connection in world. Specialists believed that winds, ocean currents, and fog would make it impractical to build. It took about four many years to complete the wonderful 1.2-mile-long connection. It really is held by 80, 000 mi well worth of metallic line, while the cables that link both towers tend to be 36.5 inches in diameter—the biggest available.