What are the Seven Wonders of the Modern World?

As a counterpoint to the seven wonders of the Ancient world – feats of architecture and sculpture from Ancient times - the American Society of Civil Engineers created a list of seven wonders of the modern world in 1994. Each structure was chosen based on its function, design, and engineering achievement at the time it was built. In a certain way, the wonders of the modern world are more diverse, each representing a distinct type of structure: a tunnel, a tower, a skyscraper, a bridge, a dam, a dike, and a canal.

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE MODERN WORLD
Name	Type	Location	Dates	Dimensions
Channel Tunnel	tunnel	English Channel	1987-1994	twin tunnels, 31 mi (50 km) long and 24 ft (7.3 m) in diameter; 130 ft (40 m) below the seabed
CN Tower	tower	Toronto, Canada	1973-1976	1815 feet (554 m) high
Empire State Building	skyscraper	New York City	1930-1931	1250 feet (381 m) high
Golden Gate Bridge	bridge	San Francisco Bay	1933-1937	overall length 9,266 ft (2,824 m); 4,200 ft (1,280 m)
Itaipu Dam	dam	Brazil/Paraguay border	1975-1991	5 mi (8 km) wide
Netherlands North Sea Protection Works	dike	North Sea	1927-1932; 1957-1981	19-mi (31-km) long enclosure dam; 2-mi (3-km) barrier
Panama Canal	canal	Panama	1881-1889; 1904-1914	50-mi (80 km) long

Interesting facts about the seven wonders of the modern world:

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Discuss this Article

The internet is not a wonder of the modern world? We never had the entire world connected, where folks at home can communicate to literal strangers on the other side of the planet in real time. If this was not included, I have to doubt the accuracy of the votes obtained. Were any voters voting for something that related to their respective country? The internet is global. It is a wonder of the modern civilization.

- Foofie

Yeah, but the Space Needle is cooler looking than the CN Tower.

- anon29801

That was a very good one for us!

Your article on the the Ancient Wonders made a fine companion to this one on the Modern Wonders to save for my reference.

Thanks WiseGeek!

- ellefagan

What about the Three Gorges Dam in China? Is it one of the wonders to be included in this modern world?

- anon29754

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