Aqueduct (bridge)

Aqueducts are bridges constructed to convey watercourses across gaps such as valleys or ravines. The term aqueduct may also be used to refer to the entire watercourse, as well as the bridge."aqueduct", Britannica CD 2000 Large navigable aqueducts are used as transport links for boats or ships. Aqueducts must span a crossing at the same level as the watercourses on each end. The word is derived from the Latin ("water") and ("to lead"),"aqueduct", Britannica CD 2000 therefore meaning "to lead water". A modern version of an aqueduct is a pipeline bridge. They may take the form of tunnels, networks of surface channels and canals, covered clay pipes or monumental bridges.

Ancient bridges for water

Although particularly associated with the Romans, aqueducts were likely first used by the Minoans around 2000 BCE. The Minoans had developed what was then an extremely advanced irrigation system, including several aqueducts.Minoan Aqueducts: A Pioneering Technology, ancient.eu

In the seventh century BCE, the Assyrians built an 80 km long limestone aqueduct, which included a 10 m high section to cross a 300 m wide valley, to carry water to their capital city, Nineveh.Thorkild Jacobsen and Seton Lloyd, Sennacherib's Aqueduct at Jerwan, Oriental Institute Publication 24, University of Chicago Press, 1935]

Roman Empire

Bridges were a distinctive feature of Roman aqueducts, which were built in all parts of the Roman Empire, from Germany to Africa, and especially in the city of Rome, where they supplied water to public baths and for drinking. Roman aqueducts set a standard of engineering that was not surpassed for more than a thousand years.

Modern aqueducts

Navigable aqueducts

Navigable aqueducts, also called water bridges, are water-filled bridges to allow vessels on a waterway to cross ravines or valleys. During the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, navigable aqueducts were constructed as part of the boom in canal-building. A notable revolving aqueduct has been made on the Bridgewater Canal. This allowed vessels to cross at high and low levels while conserving water that would be lost in the operation of locks.

Notable aqueducts

Roman aqueducts

The Pont du Gard in southern France Barbegal aqueduct, France Aqueduto de São Sebastião, in Coimbra, Portugal Eifel aqueduct, Germany Caesarea Maritima, Israel Patras, Greece Aqueduct of Segovia, Spain Acueducto de los Milagros, Mérida, Spain Tarragona, Spain Almuñécar, Spain (five aqueductsfour still in use) Valens Aqueduct, Istanbul, Turkey Aqua Augusta, Italy Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus, as part of the Porta Maggiore, Rome, Italy Skopje Aqueduct, Skopje, North Macedonia

Other aqueducts France Aqueduct St-Clément, Montpellier, France17th century Roquefavour Aqueduct, Francebuilt between 1842 and 1847

Greece

Kavala aqueduct, 16th-century Ottoman aqueduct in Kavala, Greece

Malta Wignacourt Aqueduct, Malta; built in the 17th century to transport water from Dingli and Rabat to the new capital city Valletta; today, most of its arches still survive in the localities of Attard, Balzan, Birkirkara, Fleur-de-Lys and Santa Venera

Montenegro Bar Aqueduct, Montenegro16th century Portugal

Aqueduto da Amoreira, in Elvas, Portugal (built 1537–1620) Águas Livres Aqueduct, in Lisbon, Portugal (built 1731–1748) Aqueduto de Óbidos, in Óbidos, Portugal (built 1570) Aqueduto de Setúbal in Setúbal, Portugal (built 1696) Aqueduto dos Pegões in Tomar, Portugal (built 1593) Água de Prata Aqueduct, in Évora, Portugal (built 1531–1537) Santa Clara Aqueduct, in Vila do Conde, Portugal Russia Rostokino Aqueduct in Moscow (built 1780–1804) Spain Aqueduct of Teruel, Spain

Middle East Tabarja in Lebanon, aqueduct runs throughout the entire ancient town and is still actively used by the farmers of the area (built 1700–1750)

North America Greater Winnipeg Water District Aqueduct, Manitoba, Canadabuilt between 1915 and 1919 High Bridge, part of the former Croton Aqueduct, built in 1848, is the oldest surviving bridge in New York City

Latin America Carioca Aqueduct in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (built 1744–1750) Surviving Spanish aqueducts in Mexico: Aqueduct of Querétaro, Mexicobuilt between 1726 and 1738, long and featuring 74 arches Aqueduct of Zacatecas, Zacatecas. Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque, Zempoala, Hidalgo Mexicobuilt between 1553 and 1570 Aqueduct of Morelia, Michoacán, built between 1735 and 1738 Aqueduct of Los Remedios, Naucalpan, Mexico, 1765 Aqueduct of Acámbaro, Guanajuato, built in 1528MexicoTravel Chapultepec aqueduct, Mexico City Aqueduct of Guadalupe, Mexico Citypresent-day only partially preserved due Modern avenues works Del Carmen Arch, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas Aqueduct of Guadalupe, Chiapas Aqueduct of Bogotá, Colombia, built in 1955, notable by being the most modern aqueduct of Latin America in the 20th century.

India

Mathur Aqueduct in Tamil Nadu state, India

Australia Boothtown Aqueduct in Sydney, Australia (built 1886–1888)

Gallery

Aqueduct (bridge)

Bron en licentie