tour of engineering marvels

[litch]

I was watching a discovery channel show on dutch water engineering and realized I would someday like to do a tour of the world's engineering marvels. I want to see the rotterdam dock gates, three gorges damn, taipaei 101, the pyramids, panama canal, new orlean's water pumps, and a couple other sorts of things.

Got any suggestions?

Comments

[vaysha.livejournal.com]

how about the taj mahal,- I hear it's the most beautiful building ever created and I'd love to see the great wall of china.



I would have loved to have seen the hanging gardens of babylon. have you ever heard of them?
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/gardens.html

[litch.livejournal.com]

I'd like to see the taj mahal as well, but it falls more under the catagory of art rather than engineering, since it's not a building for living people's use. Of course the same could be said of the pyramids but because of their size and construction they tip into my engineering catergory. Maybe do it as part of a seperate tour of funerary structures. See the taj, the pyramids, the ruins of the mausoleum at harlicarnassus, the tomb of the first soverign emporer in Xian, etc.

The great wall has never interested me for some reason, in terms of chinese culture I'd like to see the forbidden city, the monastaries at wudang and songshan, the aforementioned tomb at Xian much more than the wall.

One of the reasons I was hoping for the fall of Saddam was the fact I really want to visit bablon's ruins. With any luck things there will calm down enough I will be able to go before I die.

[vaysha.livejournal.com]

pack me in your suitcase!

that would be an amazing trip.

[cratermoon.livejournal.com]

The Columbia and Snake River waterway. Several dams along the rivers make them navigable to barges all the way from the Pacific ocean to Idaho. And they make electricity, too. Starting at the farthest downstream and going up: Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, there are 19 or 20 in all. Read Blaine Hardin's "A River Lost" for some of the engineering story.

While you're looking at dams, Shasta in N. California and of course Hoover dam is a must-see.

The Union Pacific railway through Tehachapi Pass in California is a feat of grade-leveling, including one place in the line where the track loops back over itself and you can actually see the front end of the train coming out of the tunnel while the rear is still passing over the tracks above.

[litch.livejournal.com]

I've seen most of those already. Several pieces of the waterways, hoover dam, and tehachipi pass.

[luxcanon.livejournal.com]

The Golden Gate bridge. And while you're in town, the arboretum in GG park.

[litch.livejournal.com]

Seen the bridge, but what's the arboretum like?

[luxcanon.livejournal.com]

Beautiful turn of the century glass building full of jungle.

[astronomos.livejournal.com]

New River Gorge Bridge (http://filebox.vt.edu/users/rkoors/Index.htm) in WV. We crossed this bridge on the way to visit my great uncle a view years ago. One of the most awesome bridges I have seen. It's the world's largest steel span and the second highest bridge in the US. The scenery is excellent as well.

The Chunnel

The Big Dig (http://www.masspike.com/bigdig/index.html).

The USS Ronald Reagan. Ok, so you can't tour her, but regardless of what you think of her namesake, she is the largest aircraft carrier ever built.

And the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur.

[ieuleron.livejournal.com]

The Venice waterworks.

[faustian-wish.livejournal.com]

Grand Coulee Dam

[litch.livejournal.com]

been there too, but wouldn;t mind seeing it again

[jher.livejournal.com]

yeah, I saw that show too! I had to go find it via googlemaps. ;)

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.955110,4.162788&spn=0.033216,0.063274&t=h&hl=en