Modern

Empire State Building
http://www.empire.state.ny.us/nyviews/newyorkcity/pages/Empire%20State%20Building.htm The Empire State Building started its construction in March of the 1930s but wasn’t finished until 14 months later. It was the tallest skyscraper in the world for 41 years until the completion of the World Trade Towers. The Empire State Building soars to a 1,472 feet to the tip of the antennae. It took an extraordinary 7 million hours of labor to complete. The official opening was on May 1st, 1931by President Hoover. From the main observation tower, individuals can set eyes on virtually 200 miles. This building is most famous for when actress Fay Wray was on the very top of the landmark in “King Kong” in 1933. This building is also where a lot of people commit suicide. More than 30 people committed suicide from the top of the building.

Panama Canal
The united states built the canal. The Panama Canal was originally thought of by Spain and plans were drawn up in 1529, but war stopped the Spanish from ever starting it. The Spanish draw up other plans for the canal in 1534 but no action was ever taken. In 1819 Spain finally started construction of the Panama Canal. The land was surveyed between 1850 and 1875. In 1876 a international company started the canal but two years later the company failed. Then in 1880 a French company organized by Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps began looking at the canal. In 1899 the US paid Ferdinand 40 million to build it. The US also Guaranteed Panama its independence from Spain and a initial payment of 10 million And an annuity of 250,000, starting in 1913.

Itaipu Dam
This picture is from www.eoearth.org/media/ draft/d/d0/Itaipu.jpg  Contruction began in 1975 and completed in 1991. It is the largest Hydroelectric Power Facility and is located on the Paraná River at the Brazil and Paraguay Boarder. The powerhouse in this dam is able to generate 14,000 megawatts of electricity. It contains 18 Francis turbines. On the right bank the spill way is located with 14 segmented sluice-gates. The Itaipú reservoir is 170 km ( just over 105.5 miles ) long.

Channel Tunnel
==== from [|http//www.raileurope.com/us/rail/eurostar/channel_tunnel_diagram.htm] The channel tunnel is tunnel that connects the uk and france, but the thing that makes it so special is that it is underwater. the tunnel is 31 miles long, and there is two tunnels that are 25 in diameter. The trains in the tunnel are able to go about 100 mph, and the trip for crossing the channel takes about 35 minutes. the tunnel is 50m below the seabed! during the designing process they designed the tunnel to last up to at least 120 years. that means that the tunnel could not be eroded or deteriorate for 120 years. the tunnel officially opened in may of 1994.

CERN
from http://www.bdonline.co.uk/Pictures/468xAny/i/j/y/Cern_PA_ready.jpg An EU organization that carries out research into high energy particle physics, now called the Laboratory for particle physics. Cern the largest center for scientific research. It was founded in 1954. its on the border of Franco and Swiss near Geneva. Connecting to the LHC: the world’s largest particle collider, the protons are guided by huge superconducting magnets running through eight separate sectors. Each are sealed in a vacuum and cooled to a freezing –271.3°C, just 1.9 degrees above absolute zero.

North Sea Protection Works
This picture is from www.sirharris.com/ store/06May2006a.jpg The North Sea Protection Works was built to prevent the Netherlands from being flooded during sever storms since most of it lies below sea level. There were two major areas that were affected by the punishing storms. The large tidal inlet called Zuider Zee, and the delta created by the Rhine and Meuse Rivers. Zuider Zee was dammed in 1916 when a storm hit it. The dam was 300 feet wide at see level and 25 feet high at the level of its causeway. Then another storm came threw and hit the provinces and caused a lot of damage in the southwest in 1953. After the storm a plan was made to dam the southwestern delta as well. When they drained the Zuider Zee all that was left was land, which supplied more than half a million acres of farmland for the people in the Netherlands. The colossal size of these dams nearly measure up to the great wall of china some would say.

Golden Gate Bridge
from http://www.checkoutlosangeles.com/images/PHOTO/photo_golden_gate_bridge_san%20francisco.jpg The golden gate bridge was designed in 1916, and didnt open for traffic until may,28 1937. Today the toll to cross the bridge is $3.00 but it was $.50 and 5 cent for more than 3 passengers.[|click here] to see what the bridge looks like today! You can find this magnificent bridge in san fransico. [|here] is a better picture of the golden gate bridge. It took four years to build and cost 35 million dollars. Though the project finished under budget and ahead of schedule.The towers are 500 feet from the road up and are 746 feet tall altogether. It is 4,200 feet long and that broke the world record at the time and that stood for 27 years. The Golden gate strait which the bridge goes thourgh is four hunderd feet deep.

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