The document discusses the seven greatest civil engineering achievements of the 20th century that were selected by the American Society of Civil Engineers as the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. These include the Channel Tunnel connecting France and England, the CN Tower in Toronto, the Empire State Building in New York, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Itaipu Dam spanning Brazil and Paraguay, the Netherlands North Sea Protection Works, and the Panama Canal. Brief descriptions are provided of each wonder.

2. Introduction
• The American Society of Civil Engineers
(ASCE) choose the greatest civil
engineering achievements of the 20th
century (1994) to be one of the Seven
Wonders of the Modern World.
• ASCE honored the following civil
engineering marvels:
 Channel Tunnel (England & France)
 CN Tower (Toronto)
 Empire State Building (New York)
 Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco)
 Itaipu Dam (Brazil/Paraguay)
 Netherlands North Sea Protection
Works (Netherlands)
 Panama Canal (Panama)

3. Empire State Building
• Finished being built in 1931
• At 1,250 ft. the Empire State
Building is the best-known
skyscraper in the world, and
was by far the tallest building
in the world for more than 40
years.
• The building's most
astonishing feat however, was
the speed in which it rose into
the New York City skyline.
• Construction was completed
in only one year and 45 days,
without requiring overtime.

4. Itaipu Dam
• Spans the Parana River at
the Brazil/Paraguay border.
• The Itaipu Dam is the
world's largest hydroelectric
power plant.
• Completed in 1991, it took
16 years to build this series
of dams whose length totals
7,744 m.
• It used 15 times more
concrete than the Channel
Tunnel.

5. Channel Tunnel
• Known as the Chunnel, the
Channel Tunnel links
France and England.
• It is 31 mi (9 m) long, and
23 of those miles are 150
ft (45.7 m) beneath the
seabed of the English
Channel.
• Through two of the tubes
rush the broadest trains
ever built -- double decker
behemoths 14 ft. across --
traveling close to 100
mph.

6. Panama Canal
• The Panama Canal is one of civil
engineering's greatest triumphs.
• It took 34 years to create this 50-
mile-long canal across the
Isthmus of Panama.
• The amount of digging required
and the size of its locks helped
make it the most expensive
project in American history at
that time.
• It was also the most deadly
project in American history:
About 80,000 people died (most
from disease) during
construction of the Panama
Canal.

7. CN Tower • From 1976 to 2007, the CN
Tower was the world's tallest
freestanding structure.
• It looms about one-third of a
mile high (1,815 ft) above
Toronto, Canada.
• It was built at an amazing rate of
18 ft. per day.
• Designed with the aid of a wind
tunnel, the CN Tower can
withstand 260-mph gusts.
• The SkyPod, a seven-story
structure 1,100 ft. high, was
built around the base of the
tower.

8. Netherlands North Sea Protection
Works
• This vast and complex system
of dams, floodgates, storm
surge barriers and other
engineered works literally
allows the Netherlands to
exist.
• The biggest part of the
Netherlands North Sea
Protection Works was a two-
mile-long moveable surge
barrier across an estuary
finished in 1986.
• It is made of 65 concrete piers
each weighing 18,000 tons.

9. Golden Gate Bridge
• More than 60 years after its
completion, the Golden Gate
Bridge remains the world's
tallest suspension bridge.
• It connects San Francisco and
Marin County.
• It took about four years to
complete the beautiful 1.2-
mile-long (1.9 km) bridge.
• It is held by 80,000 mi (128,747
km) worth of steel wire.
• Hanging from two 746-ft-high
towers, its cables -- each a yard
thick --are the biggest ever to
support a bridge.

11. Interview
• My brother, Stephen Florival
– Job: Production for CBS Sports, travels in U.S. for
work.
1. Have you been to any of the Seven Wonders?
If you have, which one(s) did you go to?
2. Which one did you like the most?
3. If you had to propose to your wife at one of
the Seven Wonders, which one would you
pick and why?

12. Article
• Why are there only Seven Wonders of the World?
• There are so many other remarkable places other
than the Seven Wonders. Why don’t they get the
same recognition as them.
• There are only Seven Wonders because the Seven
Wonders are the above average and above
extraordinary. They are the Seven Wonders
because no other creation is as unique.
• “Why are there only Seven Wonders of the
World?." ReSource Media RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10
May 2013.
<http://portal.resourcemedia.com/?p=392>.

13. Follow-Up
• Go to www.asce.org/ to find out more about this
organization, the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, and
more.
• Or you can visit
http://www.christiealwis.com/knowledge%20sharing/moder
nwonders.pdf
• Seven Wonders of Engineering by Ron Miller

14. Questions
1. If you were chosen to make the Eighth
Wonder of the world, what would it be and
where would it be located?
2. If you could visit only one of the Seven
Wonders, which one would you visit?
3. Have you been to any of the Seven Wonders?
If yes, then which one(s)?

16. References
• "7 Wonders of the Modern World." Seven
Wonders of the Modern World Slideshow. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 10 May 2013.
• "CIVL 1101." CIVL 1101. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May
2013.
• "Seven Wonders of the Modern World." Seven
Wonders of the Modern World. N.p., n.d. Web. 10
May 2013.
• "Seven Wonders." Seven Wonders. N.p., n.d.
Web. 10 May 2013.