An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel Smaller transportation canals can carry barges or narrowboats, while ship canals allow seagoing ships to travel to an inland port , or from one sea or ocean to another (e.g.: Caledonian Canal, Panama Canal) (conduit) constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose.^[1] In a more restricted use, aqueduct (occasionally water bridge) applies to any bridge or viaduct A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early viaducts comprised a series of arches of roughly equal that transports water—instead of a path, road or railway—across a gap. Large navigable aqueducts Navigable aqueducts are bridge structures which carry canals over other rivers, valleys or railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of water than most water-supply aqueducts. Although Roman aqueducts were sometimes used for transport, aqueducts were not generally used until the 17th century are used as transport links for boats or ships. Aqueducts must span a crossing at the same level as the watercourses on each side. The word is derived from the Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. With the Roman conquest, Latin was spread to countries around the Mediterranean, including a large part of Europe. Romance languages such as Aragonese, Corsican, Catalan, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Sardinian, Spanish and others, are descended from Latin, while aqua ("water") and ducere ("to lead").

Ancient aqueducts

Although particularly associated with the Romans Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world, aqueducts were devised much earlier in the Near East The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for archeologists and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other. The term originally applied to the Balkan states in Eastern Europe, but now generally describes the countries of Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent and other terms, is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate south of the Himalayas, forming a land mass which extends southward into the Indian Ocean, where peoples such as the Egyptians Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next three millennia. Its history and Harappans The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE) which was centred mostly in the western part of the Indian Subcontinent and which flourished around the Indus river basin.[n 1] Primarily centered along the Indus and the Punjab region, the civilization extended into the Ghaggar-Hakra River built sophisticated irrigation Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in crop production, which include protecting plants systems. Roman-style aqueducts were used as early as the 7th century BC, when the Assyrians The Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people are an ethnic group whose origins lie in the Fertile Crescent. Today that ancient territory is part of several nations; the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people have been minorities under other ethnic groups' rule since the early Middle Ages. They have traditionally lived in northern Iraq, Syria, northwest Iran, and built an 80 km long limestone aqueduct, 10 m high and 300 m wide, to carry water across a valley to their capital city, Nineveh Nineveh , an "exceeding great city", as it is called in the Book of Jonah, was an ancient city on the eastern bank of the Tigris in ancient Assyria. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq.

In the new world, when the Aztec The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology capital of Tenochtitlán Tenochtitlan (sometimes paired with Mexico as Mexico Tenochtitlan or Tenochtitlan Mexico) was a Nahua altepetl (city-state) located on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. Founded in 1325, it became the seat of the growing Aztec empire in the 15th century, until captured by the Spanish in 1521. It subsequently became a cabecera of was discovered in the middle of the second millennium The 2nd millennium was a period of time that commenced on January 1, 1001 and ended on December 31, 2000, encompasses the High Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Early Modern Age, the age of Colonialism, industrialization, the rise of nation states, and culminates in the 20th century with the impact of science, widespread education, and universal, it was watered by two aqueducts. Water ran down to the city from the mountains through one while the other was cleaned and maintained.

Indian People

The Indian subcontinent is believed to have some of the earliest aqueducts. Evidence can be found at the sites of present day Hampi, Karnataka. The massive aqueducts near river Tungabhadra supplying irrigation water were once 15 miles (24 km) long^[2]. The water ways supplied water to royal bath houses.

Oman

In Oman Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman (Arabic: سلطنة عمان‎ Salṭanat ʻUmān), is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the from the Iron Age Period (found in Salut, Bat and other sites) a system of underground aqueducts called Falaj were constructed, a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping horizontal tunnels. There are three types of Falaj Daudi (داوودية)with underground aqueducts Ghaili (الغيلية ) requiring a dam to collect the water Aini (العينية ) whose source is a water spring These enabled large scale agriculture to flourish in a dry land environment

Persia

In Persia Iran (Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Central Eurasia and Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was also known to the western world as Persia. Both Persia and Iran are used from early times^[vague] a system of underground aqueducts called Qanat A qanāt (Iran, Syria and Jordan), kārīz (or kārēz from Persian: كاريز (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, derived from Persian: كاهریز), kahan (from Persian: کهن), khettara (Morocco); galeria (Spain); falaj (United Arab Emirates and Oman); Kahn (Baloch) or foggara/fughara (North Africa) is a water management system were constructed, a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping tunnels. This technique:

• taps into subterranean water in a manner that delivers water to the surface without need for pumping. The water drains relying on gravity, with the destination lower than the source, which is typically an upland aquifer.
• allows water to be transported long distances in hot dry climates without losing a large proportion of the source water to seepage and evaporation.

Roman

Roman aqueducts were built in all parts of the Roman Empire The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor, Augustus, from Germany to Africa, and especially in the city of Rome, where they totalled over 415 km. The aqueducts supplied water to large cities across the empire, and set a standard of engineering that was not surpassed for more than a thousand years.

South America

Near the Peruvian Peru (pronounced /pəˈrʊ/ ; Spanish: Perú, Quechua: Piruw, Aymara: Piruw), officially the Republic of Peru (Spanish: República del Perú, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðel peˈɾu] ( listen)), is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south town of Nazca, an ancient pre-Columbian system of aqueducts called Puquios Puquios is a name given to an old system of aqueducts near the city of Nazca, Peru. Out of 36 Puquios, most are still functioning and relied upon to bring fresh water into the arid desert. The Puquios have never been fully mapped, nor have any been excavated were built and are still in use today. They were made of intricately placed stones, a construction material widely used by the Nazca culture. The time period in which they were constructed is still debated, but some evidence supports circa A.D. 540–552, in response to drought A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a short, periods in the region.^[3]

Sri Lanka

Extensive usage of elaborate aqueducts have been found to have been used in Ancient Sri Lanka.

Modern aqueducts

In modern times, the largest aqueducts of all have been built in the United States to supply the country's biggest cities. The Catskill Aqueduct The Catskill Aqueduct, part of the New York City water supply system, brings water from the Catskill Mountains to Yonkers where it connects to other parts of the system. It begins at the Ashokan Reservoir in Olivebridge, New York, in Ulster County. It then heads south, flowing toward Orange County, New York, and then crosses underneath the Hudson carries water to New York City over a distance of 120 miles (190 km), but is dwarfed by aqueducts in the far west The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time. Prior to about 1800, the crest of the Appalachian of the country, most notably the Colorado River Aqueduct, which supplies the Los Angeles area with water from the Colorado River The Colorado River, Mojave language 'Aha Kwahwat, Spanish: Río Colorado , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 1,450 miles (2,330 km) long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The natural course of the river flows from the Continental Divide at La Poudre nearly 400 km to the east and the 714.5 km California Aqueduct The aqueduct begins at the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta at the Banks Pumping Plant which pumps from the Clifton Court Forebay. Water is pumped by the Banks Pumping Plant to the Bethany Reservoir. The reservoir serves as a forebay for the South Bay Aqueduct via the South Bay Pumping Plant. From the Bethany Reservoir the aqueduct flows by, which runs from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is an expansive inland river delta and estuary in northern California in the United States. The Delta is formed at the western edge of the Central Valley by the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and lies just east of where the rivers enter Suisun Bay . The city of Stockton is located on the to Lake Perris Lake Perris is an artificial lake completed in 1973. It is the southern terminus of the California State Water Project situated in a mountain-rimmed valley between Moreno Valley, and city of Perris in what is now the Lake Perris State Recreation Area. The park offers a variety of recreational activities. Because of this and the lake's proximity to. The Central Arizona Project is the largest and most expensive aqueduct constructed in the United States. It stretches 336 miles from its source near Parker, Arizona Parker is a town in and the county seat of La Paz County, Arizona, United States, on the Colorado River. The population was 3,140 at the 2000 census to the metropolitan areas of Phoenix Phoenix is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the fifth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to approximately 1.5 million people, and is the anchor of the Phoenix metropolitan area (also known as the Valley of the Sun), the 12th largest metro area by population in the United States with and Tucson Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States, located 118 miles (188 km) southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles (98 km) north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2009 Census Bureau estimate puts the city's population at 548,555, with a metropolitan area population at 1,023,320 as of July 1, 2008. In 2005, Tucson ranked as. A modern version of aqueduct is a pipeline bridge.

Uses

Historically, agricultural societies have constructed aqueducts to irrigate Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in crop production, which include protecting plants crops. Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics, statics and an explanation of the principle of the lever. He is invented the water screw to raise water for use in irrigation of croplands.

Another use for aqueducts is to supply large cities with drinking water. Some of the Roman aqueducts still supply water to Rome today. In California California's geography ranges from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, to Mojave desert areas in the southeast and the Redwood–Douglas fir forests of the northwest. The center of the state is dominated by the Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. California is the most, United States, three large aqueducts supply water over hundreds of miles to the Los Angeles area. Two are from the Owens River The Owens River is a river in southeastern California in the United States, approximately 120 miles long. It drains into and through the Owens Valley, an arid basin between the eastern face of the Sierra Nevada and the western faces of the Inyo and White Mountains. The river drains into the Owens Lake, with its flow greatly diminished by diversion area and a third is from the Colorado River.

In more recent times, aqueducts were used for transportation purposes to allow canal Smaller transportation canals can carry barges or narrowboats, while ship canals allow seagoing ships to travel to an inland port , or from one sea or ocean to another (e.g.: Caledonian Canal, Panama Canal) barges A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats. Canal barges, towed by draft animals on an adjacent towpath, contended with the railway in the early industrial revolution, but were outcompeted in the carriage of to cross ravines or valleys. During the Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transport and technology had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions starting in the United Kingdom, then subsequently spreading throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world. The of the 18th century, aqueducts were constructed as part of the boom in canal-building.

In modern civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings. Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline after military engineering, and it was defined to distinguish projects, detailed study and analysis of open channel flow is commonly required to support flood control, irrigation systems, and large water supply systems when an aqueduct rather than a pipeline is the preferred solution.

In the past, aqueducts often had channels made of earth or other porous materials but significant amounts of water are lost through such unlined aqueducts. As water gets increasingly scarce, these canals are being lined with concrete Concrete is a construction material composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate (generally a coarse aggregate made of gravels or crushed rocks such as limestone, or granite, plus a fine aggregate such as sand), water, and chemical admixtures, polymers A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. While polymer in popular usage suggests plastic, the term actually refers to a large class of natural and synthetic materials with a wide variety of properties or impermeable soil. In some cases, a new aqueduct is built alongside the old one because it cannot be shut down during construction.

Show All>>

What Links Here:

Recently Viewed Pages:

• Air Conditioning: Answers
• Home
• Air Conditioning: Encyclopedia
• Air Conditioning: Answers
• Answers
• Air Conditioner: Dictionary
• Business: Construction and Maintenance: Materials and Supplies: Mechanical: Heating, Ventilating, And Air Conditioning: Wholesale and Distribution: Directory
• Business: Construction and Maintenance: Materials and Supplies: Mechanical: Heating, Ventilating, And Air Conditioning: Instrumentation and Controls: Directory
• Business: Construction and Maintenance: Materials and Supplies: Mechanical: Heating, Ventilating, And Air Conditioning: Radiant Heating: Directory
• Air Conditioning: Encyclopedia

Most Popular Pages:

• Home
• Search Terms
• Willis Haviland Carrier
• Air Conditioning: Answers
• Evaporator Coil: Blogs
• Air Conditioning: Encyclopedia
• Air Conditioner Eer: Answers
• Actinomycetes: Answers
• Prong Converter: Answers
• Air Conditioner: Encyclopedia

Related 'Aqueduct' Searches: