People often take for granted the work that goes into building large towers, monuments and other structures that are visited on a regular basis around the United States and the world. Here are four engineering marvels of the United States.
- Hoover Dam
The idea to build this dam dates all the way back to 1869 and took five years to build during the 1930s, employing thousands of people during the Great Depression. Today the 220-acre dam, located on the Nevada-Arizona border, provides municipal water and hydroelectric power to approximately 1.3 million people in the southwestern United States. If you ever visit this impressive structure, take a moment to remember the farrar engineer Tulsa knowledge of the past.
- Seattle Space Needle
Completed in 1962 for the World’s Fair, the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington stands 605 feet tall and was built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour. Today, the Space Needle features a rotating glass floor and elevators that travel at a remarkable speed of 800 feet per minute.
- Brooklyn Bridge
Spanning between Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan in New York, the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883 and remains among the top 50 longest suspension bridges in the world, with a main span of 1,595 feet. The towers at each end of the bridge are responsible for supporting the weight of the cables and ensuring that the bridge is high enough to not interfere with boats traveling underneath.
- Mount Rushmore
The imposing Mount Rushmore was completed in 1941 and is located in the hills of southwestern South Dakota. Containing 60-foot tall faces of four former United States Presidents, this monument required over 450,000 tons of rock to be blown up before the carving of the faces could even begin.
Consider visiting one of these four impressive feats of engineering.
