What are the seven wonders of the modern world?

The seven wonders of the modern world were selected by the American Society of Civil Engineers to reflect the greatest feats of engineering. Five are in America, with three in North America, one in Central America and one in South America. Two are in Europe, one in the Netherlands and one between Britain and France.

North America

The Empire State Building Like all the modern wonders, this building was nominated by the American Society of Civil Engneers. Finished in 1930, it is 1472 feet high and is made of limestone and granite, trimmed at the top with aluminium and chrome. The CNN Tower This engineering feat in Toronto required foundations to be fifty feet deep, but it was the innovative engineering that made it original. The use of poured concrete was difficult in a structure that had to be 1855 feet high. So, engineers developed a mobile mould steadily raised by hydraulic jacks to create the tower. A revolving complex from which you can see 75 miles is found at the top, below the mast. The Golden Gate Bridge This wonder was once deemed impossible. The pillars supporting the span are 1415 feet from the shore, but the main span is 4200 feet wide. The bridge is designed to sway 27 feet so that it can ride with the strong Pacific winds that would otherwise destroy it.

The rest of America

Central America One of the seven wonders is the Panama Canal, said to be the greatest piece of peacetime engineering ever. Linking two oceans, it saved enormous sea journeys round South America. Its construction drove through lakes and involved the building of one of the largest damns in history and a series of locks. South America The Itaipu damn on the Parana river was a joint project between Brazil and Paraguay. It involved shifting fifteen times as much earth was moved in the channel tunnel construction and provides 25% of Brazil's and 62% of Paraguay's electricity. The greatest part of this wonder is said to be the enormous powerhouse.

Europe

Netherlands The Dutch damming of the Zuyder Zee after World War II to create new land was a great engineering achievement. The North Sea was contained by a well-constructed damn and later on, new engineering works involving movable barriers were built to protect other vulnerable parts of Holland. The damn withstood the 1953 storm, though with some damage. English Channel The channel tunnel was a masterpiece of precision engineering in which British and French excavators met exactly where planned in the middle of the channel, many feet below ground and created the first land connection between Britian and Europe since the Stone Age.