Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal Sep 10, 2024

Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal

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, 2018Party like it’s 5779
Sep 10, 2019Welcome to my neck of the woods
Sep 10, 2020Hidden beauty in Thailand
Sep 10, 2021Celebrating all things Austen
Sep 10, 2022Mid-Autumn Festival
Sep 10, 2023Grandparents Day
Sep 10, 2025Hay bales in North Yorkshire, England

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Sep 23, 2025A keel-billed toucan in Costa Rica
Nov 27, 2024Tombeau du Géant in Bouillon, Belgium
Nov 6, 2022New York City Marathon
Feb 25, 2025Anniversary of Bryce Canyon National Park
Apr 14, 2019A view fit for a queen
Oct 30, 2018A species worth defending
Sep 17, 2020Citizenship Day and Constitution Day
Jan 29, 2020Staircase of turquoise pools
Dec 28, 2025Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
Nov 19, 2021Zion National Park, Utah
Jul 30, 2020International Day of Friendship
Aug 17, 2021Wanderin Wawayanda
Jun 17, 2020Don t go chasing waterfalls
May 7, 2019Spring comes to Glacier National Park
May 25, 2020Here we mark the price of freedom
Jun 2, 2024National Gardening Week
Aug 13, 2023Perseid meteor shower over Oregon
Aug 12, 2024World Elephant Day
Sep 28, 2021The snows of Fuji
Oct 14, 2019Canadian Thanksgiving
Jun 2, 2020Falling for the Canadian Rockies
Feb 4, 2024Devetashka Cave, Devetaki, Bulgaria
Feb 8, 2020Lanterns alight in Pingxi
May 21, 2023Pont dArcole over the Seine river, Paris, France
Nov 4, 2020Caribou on the move
May 15, 2023The Canary Islands, Spain
May 12, 2022International Nurses Day
Dec 3, 2019It’s Giving Tuesday
Aug 28, 2019Florentine garden brings generations together
Apr 7, 2018The confluence of the Arve and Rhône Rivers