Seven Wonders of the Modern World

1.The Channel Tunnel

In 1802 a French mining engineer named Albert Mathieu had a wonderful idea. After years of war
between France and England the two European powers were finally at peace. Suppose one took
advantage of this reconciliation to forge a permanent tie involving the two nations? Not just an effort to
create goodwill between the two, longtime rivals, but a project that would physically link the two
countries together. Something that would give them a way to move people and goods across the 20
miles of water of the English Channel without relying on the small, erratic ferries that made passengers
seasick as they were knocked about by the unpredictable waves.What if one connected the two great
nations together using an underground tunnel?
Mathieu presented his idea to the then current ruler of France, Napoleon. Unfortunately for Mathieu
the "Peace of Amiens" lasted only a year and his idea was soon forgotten, but only after being ridiculed
by the British Press in a cartoon showing French troops invading England via balloons and a tunnel.
2. The CN
In the 1960's the city of Toronto, Canada, was in a building boom. The town, which had consisted for
many years as mostly smaller buildings, was erecting a number of new skyscrapers which rose towards
the heavens. While this made the skyline of the city exciting to look at, it also caused some problems,
too. The new, tall buildings blocked TV and radio communications as well as the microwave
transmissions used to move data between many businesses. To resolve this problem the Canadian
National Railway (CN) decided to build a communications tower tall enough so that any radio or TV
communications from it would not be obstructed by other high-rise buildings in the city. The tower
would also serve as a hub for microwave transmissions, allowing two businesses that were not visible to
each other to exchange data by having the tower retransmit it. The project officially got underway in
1972.
3.The Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story[c] Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmonand completed in 1931, the building has a roof height of 1,250 feet
(380 m) and stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall, including its antenna. Its name is derived from
"Empire State", the nickname of New York, which is of unknown origin. As of 2017 the building is
the 5th-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States and the 28th-tallest in the world. It is also
the 6th-tallest freestanding structure in the Americas.

4.Bridge Across the Golden Gate

The strait that connects the Pacific Ocean with the San Francisco Bay is one of the most unforgiving
stretches of water in the world. It is 6,700 ft (2,042 m) wide and in the center 500 ft (150 m) deep.
Because of the tides moving in and out of the bay the water is subject to strong, swirling currents.
Sometimes as the air is forced between the high hills on either side (which is called the "gate"), heavy,
gusting winds result that can move as fast as 75 miles per hour. When the wind drops, the area is also
often shrouded in heavy fog with near zero visibility. In 1916, because of these factors, San Francisco's
city engineer, Michael M. O'Shaughnessy, estimated that a bridge to span the strait would cost $100
million to construct, an incredible amount of money for that period of time.
5. Megadam: The Itaipu
In the 1960's the governments of Brazil and Paraguay saw a way of working together on a project that
used one of their shared resources to support the expanding electrical needs of their countries. This
resource was the Paraná River, the seventh largest in the world, which formed a natural border between
the two nations. The project was a massive dam that would harness the river's energy and turn it into
electrical power.
6. The Panama Canal
The Panama Canal  is an artificial 82 km (51 mi) waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic
Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime
trade. Canal locks are at each end to lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial lake created to reduce the
amount of excavation work required for the canal, 26 m (85 ft) above sea level, and then lower the ships
at the other end. The original locks are 34 m (110 ft) wide. A third, wider lane of
locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded canal began commercial
operation on June 26, 2016. The new locks allow transit of larger, post-Panamax ships, capable of
handling more cargo.
7.The Zuiderzee and Delta Works of the Netherlands
The Zuiderzee Works (Dutch: Zuiderzeewerken) is a man-made system of dams and dikes, land
reclamation and water drainage work, in total the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by
the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the damming of the Zuiderzee, a
large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, and the reclamation of land in the newly enclosed water
using polders. Its main purposes are to improve flood protection and create additional land for
agriculture.

The American Society of Civil Engineers declared these works, together with the Delta Works in the
South-West of the Netherlands, as among the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.