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{{otheruses}}
[[Image:Pont du gard.jpg|right|thumb|[[Pont du Gard]], [[France]], a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] aqueduct built circa 19 BC. It is one of France's top tourist attractions and a [[World Heritage Site]].]]

[[Image:Roman Aqueduct kavala.jpg|right|thumb| The Aqueduct in Kavala, Greece. 25 meters height with 60 arches. It was built in AD 1530 on a Roman model during the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent.]]

{{Portalpar|Water}}
An '''aqueduct''' is an artificial [[canal|channel]] that is constructed to convey water from one location to another. The word is derived from the [[Latin language|Latin]] ''aqua'', "water," and ''ducere'' ("to lead"). The word is also used for any [[bridge]] that carries water, similar to [[viaduct]]s, though they carry water instead of a road or railway. Sufficiently large aqueducts may also be usable by [[boats]] or [[ship]]s. While a road bridge often carries the roadway at a more elevated level than the rest of the road, such a variation of height is not possible for an aqueduct.

==Ancient aqueducts==

[[Image:Roman aqueduct from Pools of Solomon to Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|right|View from inside a Roman aqueduct from the [[Pools of Solomon]] to [[Jerusalem]]]]

Although famously associated with the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], aqueducts were devised much earlier in the [[Near East]] and [[Indian subcontinent]], where peoples such as the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]] and [[Indus Valley Civilization|Harappans]] built sophisticated irrigation systems. Roman-style aqueducts were used as early as the 7th century BC, when the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] built a limestone aqueduct 30 feet (10 m) high and 900 feet (300 m) long to carry water across a valley to their capital city, [[Nineveh]]. The full length of the aqueduct ran for 50 miles (80 km).

In the new world, when the [[Aztec]] capital of [[Tenochtitlán]] was discovered in the middle of the [[second millennium]], it was watered by two aqueducts.
===Aqueducts in Persia===
In [[Iran|Persia]] from early times {{vague|Starting when? Finishing when?}} a system of underground aqueducts called [[Qanat]] were constructed, a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping tunnels. This technique:
* Taps into subterranean water in a manner that efficiently delivers large quantities of 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.

===Aqueducts in India===
[[Image:Hampi aqueduct.JPG|thumb|Ancient Indian aqueduct in Hampi]]
Indian subcontinent was one of the earliest builders of aqueducts. More prominent evidence can be found at the sites of present day [[Hampi]]. The massive aqueducts near river Tungabhadra supplying irrigation water were once 15 miles long<ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=_kc3LKI_slEC</ref>.The elegant water ways in royal center supplied water for royal bath houses.

===Roman aqueducts===
{{main|Roman aqueduct}}
Roman aqueducts were built in all parts of the [[Roman Empire]], from Germany to Africa, and especially in the city of Rome itself, where they totaled over 260 miles (416 km). The aqueducts were important for supplying water to large cities across the empire, and they set a high standard of engineering that was not surpassed for more than a thousand years.

==Modern aqueducts==
[[Image:Arizona cap canal.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Central Arizona Project Aqueduct]], the largest and most expensive aqueduct ever constructed in the [[United States]].]]
Much of the expertise of the [[Roman engineering|Roman engineers]] was lost in the [[Dark Ages]], and in Europe the construction of aqueducts largely ceased until the [[High Middle Ages]]. An example of an extant small scale aqueduct system built in 1202 by [[Cistercian]] [[monk]]s is the Spanish [[Real Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Rueda]], whose central heating and waste disposal system relied upon a series of aqueducts originating from a diversion of the [[Ebro River]]. Through most of the [[Middle Ages]] and even up to the 19th century, water was instead usually supplied through the digging of [[water well|well]]s, though this could cause serious public health problems when local water supplies became contaminated. One notable exception was the [[New River (England)|New River]], a man-made [[waterway]] in [[England]], opened in 1613 to supply [[London]] with fresh drinking water over a distance of 38 miles (62 km). The development of [[canal]]s provided another spur to aqueduct building.

The 19th century saw aqueduct building resume on a large scale to supply fast-growing cities and water-hungry industries. The developments of new materials (such as [[cast iron]]) and new technologies (such as [[steam power]]) enabled significant improvements to be made. For instance, cast iron permitted the construction of larger, more highly pressurised [[inverted siphon]]s, while steam- and electrically powered [[pump]]s enabled a major increase in the quantity and speed of water flow. England led the world in aqueduct construction, with notable examples being built to convey water to [[Birmingham]], [[Liverpool]] and [[Manchester]].
[[Image:Schoharie crossing2.jpg|thumb|left|Remains of the Schoharie Crossing, an aqueduct that once carried the [[Erie Canal]] over the Schoharie Creek near Amsterdam, New York.]]
[[Image:Mathur Hanging Trough Bridge.JPG|thumb|left|[[Mathur Aqueduct]] in [[Tamilnadu]] state, [[India]] carries irrigation water]]
In modern times the largest aqueducts of all have been built in the [[United States]] to supply that country's biggest cities. The [[Catskill Aqueduct]] carries water to [[New York]] over a distance of 120 miles (190 km), but it is dwarfed by aqueducts in the [[Western United States|far west]] of the country, most notably the [[Colorado River Aqueduct]], which supplies the [[Los Angeles]] area with water from the [[Colorado River]] nearly 250 miles (400 km) to the east, and the 444 mile (714.5 km) [[California Aqueduct]] which runs from the Sacramento Delta to Lake Perris.

==Uses of aqueducts==

Historically, many agricultural societies have constructed aqueducts to [[irrigation|irrigate]] crops. [[Archimedes]] invented the [[Archimedes' screw|water screw]] to raise water for use in irrigation of croplands.

Another widespread use for aqueducts is to supply large cities with clean drinking water. Some of the famed Roman aqueducts still supply water to [[Rome]] today. In [[California]], [[United States|USA]], three large aqueducts supply water over hundreds of miles to the [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] area. Two are from the [[Owens River]] area and a third is from the [[Colorado River]].

In more recent times, aqueducts were used for transportation purposes to allow [[canal]] [[barge]]s to cross ravines or valleys. During the [[Industrial Revolution]] of the 18th century, many aqueducts were constructed as part of the general boom in canal-building.

In modern [[civil engineering]] 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. The aqueduct is a simple way to get water to other ends of a field.

In the past, aqueducts often had channels made of earth or other porous materials. Significant amounts of water are lost through such unlined aqueducts. As water gets increasingly scarce, these canals are being lined with [[concrete]], [[polymers]] or impermeable soil. In some cases, a new aqueduct is built alongside the old one because it cannot be shut down during construction.

==Notable aqueducts==
====Ancient Greek aqueducts====
*The [[Eupalinian aqueduct]] on the [[Greece|Greek]] island of [[Samos Island|Samos]].

====Roman aqueducts====
[[Image:Aqueduct-segovia.jpg|right|thumb|[[Segovia]], [[Spain]]. [[Aqueduct of Segovia|Roman aqueduct]]]]
[[Image:Aqueduc.jpg|right|thumb|Roman aqueduct supplying [[Carthage]], [[Tunisia]]]]
[[Image:Valens Aqueduct in Istanbul.jpg|right|thumb|[[Valens aqueduct|Aqueduct of Valens]], [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]]]
[[Image:Aqueduct Tokatee Hydro Project.jpg|right|thumb|Aqueduct near Tokatee Falls in Oregon]]
*The [[Pont du Gard]] in southern [[France]]
*[[Barbegal aqueduct]], France
*[[Eifel aqueduct]], [[Germany]]
*[[Caesarea Maritima]], [[Israel]]
*[[Kavala]], [[Greece]]
*[[Patras]], [[Greece]]
*[[Aqueduct of Segovia]], [[Spain]]
*[[Acueducto de los Milagros]], [[Mérida, Spain]]
*[[Tarragona]], Spain
*[[Almuñécar#Roman|Almuñécar]], Spain (5 aqueducts - 4 still in use)
*[[Valens Aqueduct]], [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]
*[[Aqua Augusta]], Italy
*[[Aqua Claudia]] and the [[Anio Novus]], as part of the [[Porta Maggiore]], Rome, Italy
*[[Aqueduct (Skopje)|Skopje Aqueduct]], [[Skopje]], [[Republic of Macedonia]]

''See also'': [[List of aqueducts in the Roman Empire]]

====Other aqueducts====
*[[Wignacourt Aqueduct]], [[Malta]]. This aqueduct was built in the 16th century to transport water from the old capital city of Malta, [[Mdina]] to the new capital city [[Valletta]]. Today, only part of this aqueduct is visible in the localities of [[Balzan]], [[Birkirkara]] and [[Santa Venera]].
*[[Aqueduct St-Clément]], [[Montpellier]], France - 17th century
*[[Águas Livres Aqueduct]], in [[Lisbon]], [[Portugal]] (built 1731-1748)
*[[Carioca Aqueduct]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]], [[Brazil]] (built 1744-1750)
*[[Aqueduct of Teruel]], Spain
*[[Roquefavour aqueduct]], France - built between 1842 and 1847
*[[Winnipeg Aqueduct]], [[Manitoba]], Canada - built between 1915 and 1919
*[[Canal de l'Aqueduc]], [[Quebec]], Canada
*[[Päijänne Water Tunnel]] is 120 kilometers long underground aqueduct (continuous tunnel) connecting lake [[Päijänne]] to [[Greater Helsinki]].
*[[Wan Mat Saman Aqueduct]], [[Kedah]], [[Malaysia]] - built between 1900 and 1909
*[[Mathur Aqueduct]] in [[Tamilnadu]] state, [[India]]
* Surviving Spanish aqueducts in [[Mexico]]:
** Aqueduct of [[Santiago de Querétaro|Querétaro]], [[Mexico]] - built between 1726 and 1738, 1.3 km long and featuring 74 arches.
** Aqueduct of [[Morelia]], [[Michoacan]], built between 1735 and 1738.
** Aqueduct of [[Acámbaro]], [[Guanajuato]], built in 1528 [http://www.sectur.gob.mx/work/resources/LocalContent/7830/1/Acueducto%20de%20Acambaro.htm].
*[[Levada]]s, 1350 miles of 17th century aqueducts on the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] island of [[Madeira]].
*[[Mission San Francisco de la Espada|Espada Aqueduct]], built 1735, in [[San Antonio, Texas]], [[United States]].
*[[Quabbin Aqueduct]], 24.6 miles long tunnel, in [[Massachusetts]], [[United States]].
*[[Chicopee Valley Aqueduct]], 13.1 miles long, in [[Massachusetts]], [[United States]].
*[[Central Arizona Project Aqueduct]]
*[[California Aqueduct]], a 444 miles (approx. 714.5 kilometers) long combination of canals, pipelines and tunnels, United States.
* [[Delaware Aqueduct]], in [[New York]] State, [[United States]] - at 85 miles (137 km) long, the world's longest continuous underground tunnel.
* [[High Bridge (New York City)|High Bridge]], part of the former [[Croton Aqueduct]], built in 1848, is the oldest surviving bridge in [[New York City]].

==Navigable aqueducts==
''See also: [[List of canal aqueducts in Great Britain]]''
[[Image:Longden-on-Tern1.jpg|thumb|The Longden-on-Tern aqueduct]]
'''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 when the problems of [[summit level canal]]s had been solved and the modern canal system started to appear.

[[Image:WalesC0047.jpg|thumbnail|[[Pontcysyllte Aqueduct]] on the [[Llangollen Canal]], [[Wales]]. Built for the transport of goods, the canal is now used for leisure]]
[[Image:pontcysyllte aqueduct arp.jpg|thumb|right|A canal boat traverses the [[Pontcysyllte Aqueduct]]]]

Early aqueducts such as the three on the [[Canal du Midi]] (1683) were stone or brick arches, the longest span being 18.3m on the Cesse Aqueduct (1686). However the weight of the construction to support the trough with the clay or other lining to make it waterproof made these structures clumsy and it was not until 1796 that the first large [[cast iron]] aqueduct was built at [[Longdon-on-Tern]] by [[Thomas Telford]] on the [[Shrewsbury Canal]]. It has a total length of 57m with 3 intermediate piers. Within 10 years he had completed the far more ambitious [[Pontcysyllte Aqueduct]] over the [[River Dee, Wales|Dee]] valley on the [[Llangollen Canal]] which has a total length of 307m. Other cast iron aqueducts followed such as the single span [[Stanley Ferry Aqueduct]] on the [[Calder and Hebble Navigation]] in 1839 with its innovative 50m [[Compression arch suspended-deck bridge|through arch]] design.

The impact of new materials can be seen in the experience of the [[Canal latéral à la Loire]] in France. It had 2 substantial arch aqueducts on the higher stretches of the Loire, the longest being 470m completed in 1838, but a river-level crossing was used to cross the [[Loire]] to the [[Canal de Briare]] because the consequent obstruction to the river during flooding was considered unacceptable. This proved troublesome until the 662m long [[steel]] [[Briare aqueduct]] was built in 1896, which remained the longest aqueduct in the world until the 21st century when the [[Magdeburg Water Bridge]] in Germany took the title.

===Notable navigable aqueducts===
*[[Benjamin Outram]]'s 44ft-long single-span Holmes Aqueduct on the [[Derby Canal]] in [[Derby]] was the world's first navigable [[cast iron]] aqueduct, narrowly predating [[Thomas Telford]]'s 186ft-long [[Longdon-on-Tern]] Aqueduct on the [[Shrewsbury Canal]], sometimes described as the world's first ''large-scale'' navigable cast iron aqueduct.
*[[Chirk Aqueduct]], [[Wales]] - built between 1796 and 1801
*[[Pontcysyllte Aqueduct]] carries the [[Llangollen Canal]] over the River Dee valley in north [[Wales]], and was designed by [[Thomas Telford]] and opened in 1805. The same canal, which includes a tunnelled section crosses a second valley on the [[Chirk Aqueduct]]. This navigable canal also supplies water to the borough of [[Crewe and Nantwich]].
*[[Union Canal (Scotland)|Union Canal]] in [[Scotland]] has many aqueducts, including the [[Slateford Aqueduct]] that takes the canal over the [[Water of Leith]], the [[Almond Aqueduct]] over the [[River Almond, Lothian|River Almond]] at [[Ratho]] and the very impressive [[Avon Aqueduct]] over the [[River Avon, Falkirk|River Avon]]. This is the second longest aqueduct in the [[United Kingdom]].
*In recent years the building of the [[Lichfield Aqueduct]] prompted the UK government to pass legislation preventing a road being built in the path of a canal being renovated without providing a tunnel or aqueduct for it to pass.
*[[Barton Swing Aqueduct]] - a form of [[swing bridge]] that carries the [[Bridgewater Canal]] across the lower [[Manchester Ship Canal]]. A 234ft section of the aqueduct rotates through 90 degrees to allow vessels to pass along the Ship Canal.
*Aqueduct near [[Roelofarendsveen]], [[Netherlands]] (1961) ({{coor dms|52|12|55.96|N|4|37|35.46|E}}): carries the [[Ringvaart]] [[canal]] over the A4 [[highway]] and the [[HSL Zuid]] being constructed, which are situated on land below the level of the canal (and below sea level)
*Gouwe aqueduct, near [[Gouda]], [[Netherlands]]: carries the [[Gouwe (river)|Gouwe]] [[river]] over the A12 highway, which is on land below the level of the river
*The [[Ash Aqueduct]] (1995) carries the [[Basingstoke Canal]] over the [[River Blackwater (River Loddon)|River Blackwater]] and Blackwater Valley Relief Road ([[A331 road|A331]]).
*The [[Magdeburg Water Bridge]] in [[Germany]] (2003) connects the important [[Mittellandkanal]] over the river [[Elbe]] to the [[Elbe-Havel canal]] . Nearly 1 km long, it is the longest aqueduct in Europe.

[[Image:Nanzenji aqueduct channel.jpg|right|thumb|Water channel of the [[Nanzen-ji]] aqueduct, [[Kyoto]], [[Japan]]]]
[[Image:Trogbrücke Magdeburg.jpg|thumb|right|The Magdeburg Water Bridge seen from the shores of the [[Elbe]].]]

==See also==
*[[Aztec]] the Aztec Empire also used aqueducts
*[[Drought]]
*[[Earthquake engineering]]
*[[Flow]]
*[[Goldfields Water Supply Scheme]]
*[[Irrigation]]
*[[Leat]]
*[[Pipeline transport|Pipeline]] - some used to carry water
*[[Roman aqueduct]]
*[[List of Roman bridges#Aqueduct bridges|List of Roman aqueduct bridges]]
*[[Roman architecture]]
*[[Roman engineering]]
*[[Sanitation in Ancient Rome]]
*[[Viaduct]] - a similar structure to carry a road or a railway
*[[Water resources]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{refbegin|2}}
*[[Sextus Julius Frontinus]], ''[http://www.uvm.edu/~rrodgers/Frontinus.html De Aquaeductu Urbis Romae]'' (''On the water management of the city of Rome''), Translated by R. H. Rodgers, 2003, University of Vermont
* [http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/APO_ARN/AQUEDUCT_Lat_aqua_water_and_duc.html Aqueduct entry] from [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]]
* Chanson, H. (2002). [http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view.php?pid=UQ:11123 Certains Aspects de la Conception hydrauliques des Aqueducs Romains. ('Some Aspect on the Hydraulic Design of Roman Aqueducts.')] Journal La Houille Blanche, No. 6/7, pp. 43-57 (ISSN 0018-6368)
* Chanson, H. (2008). [http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:138266"The Hydraulics of Roman Aqueducts: What do we know? Why should we learn ?"] in Proceedings of World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2008 Ahupua'a, ASCE-EWRI Education, Research and History Symposium, Hawaii, USA, Invited Keynote lecture, 13-16 May, R.W. BADCOCK Jr and R. WALTON Eds., 16 pages (ISBN-13: 978-0-7844-0976-3)
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons|Aqueduct}}
*[http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/rome/ Imperial Rome Water Systems]
*[http://www.romanaqueducts.info/ 600 Roman aqueducts with 25 descriptions in detail]
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-12265 The Roman aqueduct at Kavala (Greece) - Encyclopedia Britannica]

[[Category:Aqueducts|*]]
[[Category:Roman aqueducts]]

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[[zh:高架渠]]

Revision as of 17:53, 25 September 2008

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