Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon Sep 10, 2024

Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon

Today"s image features the Vasco da Gama Bridge in Portugal, which looks like a sleek line cutting through Lisbon"s skyline. Up close, it is a cable-stayed bridge with viaducts, stretching across the Tagus River in Parque das Nações, a civil parish in Lisbon. The second longest bridge in Europe, it also holds the title of being the longest in the European Union. Built to ease the traffic jam on Lisbon"s 25 de Abril Bridge and make travel smoother between the north and south of Portugal, the construction of the Vasco da Gama Bridge began in February 1995. It is earthquake-resistant, designed to absorb shifting during a quake. Since its deck is not fixed to the pylons, it can move both lengthwise and sideways. Inaugurated on March 29, 1998, the bridge"s opening was perfectly timed for Expo 98, the World"s Fair celebrating the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama"s historic sea route discovery from Europe to India.

© Achim Thomae/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Sep 10, 2023Walruses in Svalbard, Norway
Sep 10, 2025Hay bales in North Yorkshire, England

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May 26, 2024Methow Valley, North Cascades, Washington, USA
Jul 12, 2025Thomsons gazelles
Nov 18, 2024Porthcawl lighthouse, Wales
Dec 6, 2025Everglades National Park, Florida
Dec 4, 2024Male white rhinoceroses
Dec 24, 2024Half-timbered Houses of Freudenberg, Germany
Nov 13, 2024Sea lion in a kelp forest, Baja California, Mexico
Nov 14, 2024Manarola, Cinque Terre National Park, Liguria, Italy
Aug 3, 2025Sunflowers
Mar 28, 2025Black-naped monarch
Dec 13, 2025Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California, United States
Jan 16, 2026Leopard at Etosha National Park, Namibia
May 18, 2024Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Canada
May 31, 2024Gunnerside, Yorkshire Dales National Park, England
Nov 15, 2024Chiang Mai, Thailand
Feb 23, 2024Haghartsin Monastery, Armenia
Jan 20, 2026Gentoo penguin, Petermann Island, Antarctica
Apr 7, 2025North American beaver, Moran, Wyoming, United States
Nov 24, 2023Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA
Nov 6, 2023Lago Pehoé, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Mar 25, 2024Tulip fields in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
Feb 24, 2025Giant cuttlefish, Whyalla, South Australia, Australia
Apr 30, 2024Cheetah in Tanzania
Aug 22, 2025Rolling hills of the Palouse, Washington, United States
Jan 30, 2025Rolands Breach, Spain
Dec 11, 2023Huangshan Mountains, China
Mar 20, 2024Peveril Castle, Derbyshire, England
Dec 12, 2025Spotted poinsettia
Jul 23, 2024Methoni Castle, Messinia, Greece
May 21, 2025Tea garden at Yangjiatang Village, Songyang County, China