The Seven Wonders of the Modern World

The Seven Wonders of the Modern World

Channel Tunnel

Known as the Chunnel, it links France and England. It is 31 miles long, and 23 of those miles are 150 ft beneath the seabed of the English Channel. High-speed trains whiz through its side-by-side tubes

CN Tower

According to Family Education, the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada was the world's tallest freestanding structure until 2007. It measure 1,815 feet, which is one-third of a mile high, or three times taller than the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.

Empire State Building

The Empire State Building in New York City completed construction in 1931. Standing at 1,250 feet, this building was the world's tallest, according to the University of Memphis. The twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York rose above the Empire State Building in 1972. However, after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the Empire State Building was officially the tallest building in New York City.

Golden Gate Bridge

Completed in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California was the world's longest, and remains the world's tallest, suspension bridge. According to the University of Memphis, the bridge contains enough cable to encircle the earth three times.

Itaipu Dam

Built along the Panama River, the Itaipu Dam spans the borders of Paraguay and Brazil and is the world's largest hydroelectric power plant. The five-mile-wide dam contains enough concrete in it to build five dams the size of the Hoover Dam and is as tall as a 65-story building. The University of Memphis reports the amount of steel used in the dam could build 300 Eiffel Towers. The building of the Itaipu Dam was a 16-year project. Its energy output could power almost the whole state of California.

Netherlands North Sea Protection Works

The North Sea Protection Works is a combination of floodgates, dams and surge barriers that allow the Netherlands to exist today as this area of the world is below sea level. Family Education states the biggest part of the North Sea Protection Works Project was the completion of the two-mile long moveable surge barrier.

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is 50 miles long and is located along the Isthmus of Panama. It took 34 years to complete and, according to Family Education, was the most expensive American project of its time. The University of Memphis reports enough earth was moved in the creating of the Panama Canal to open a tunnel through the middle of the earth that was 16-feet-wide.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek Titan Helios

Built: 292 and 280 BC

Function: To celebrate Rhodes' victory over the ruler of Cyprus, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, who unsuccessfully besieged Rhodes in 305 BC

Destroyed: Hit by an earthquake in 224 BC

Size: Over 30 meters (107 ft) high

Made of: Bronze

One of the tallest statues of the ancient world

The Temple of Artemis (Greek: Artemision), also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana

Location: Ephesus(Greek)

Built: Around 401 BC

Function: To a goddess Greeks identified as Artemis

Destroyed: By flood

Reconstruction: Around 550 BC

Made of: Marble, save the roof

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Location: Peloponnesus (Modern Greece)

Built: Around 432 BC

Function: Shine to Greek God Zeus

Destroyed: Fire 5th Century A.D.

Size: Height around 40 ft. (12m)

Made of: Ivory and gold-plated plates on wooden frame.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus( in Greek)

Built: Between 333 and 350 BC

Function: For Mausolus, a satrap in the Persian Empire, and Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister

Destroyed: Damaged in earthquakes, used for building materials and was in ruins by CE 1400

Size: 45m (148ft) in height

Made of: Marble. Some of it was made out of stone but only a small percentage of the tomb.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria, also known as the Pharos of Alexandria (in Ancient Greek)

Built: Between 280 and 247 BC on the island of Pharos at Alexandria, Egypt

Function: To guide sailors into the harbour at night time

Destroyed: Badly damaged in the earthquake of 956, then again in 1303 and 1323

Size: Between 393 and 450 ft(120 and 140m)

Made of: Enormous, thick blocks of stone, whilst the watchtower was made of marble blocks held together with molten lead.

It was for many centuries among the tallest manmade structures on Earth

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Built: Starting in 605 BC (There is a less-reliable, alternative story that the gardens were built by the Assyrian Queen Semiramis during her five year reign starting in 810 BC)

Function: To please his homesick wife, Amytis

Destroyed: The gardens were destroyed by several earthquakes after the 2nd century BCE. 

Size: 100 ft (30m) long by 100 ft wide

Made of:mud brick and stone, a series of terraces, one on top of the other

The Great Pyramid of Giza (also called the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops)

Built: Around 2560 BC

Function: As a tomb for Fourth Dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu

Size: 146.5 metres (480.6 ft)

Made of : Casting stones.

Oldest and largest the pyramid was built as a tomb