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:

Feb 10, 2025Art Installation of umbrellas, London, England
Dec 29, 2024Borobudur temple, Java, Indonesia
Oct 2, 2024Wind River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA
Mar 15, 2024Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California, USA
Sep 1, 2025Kaiserstuhl, Germany
Dec 11, 2024Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Italy
Jul 23, 2024Methoni Castle, Messinia, Greece
Nov 4, 2024Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria, England
May 11, 2026Great Barrier Reef from above, Queensland, Australia
Nov 18, 2023Polar bear mother and cubs
Dec 7, 2023Verdon Gorge, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
Aug 24, 2025European fallow deer, England
Aug 30, 2024Whale shark
Feb 3, 2025Ribblehead Viaduct, North Yorkshire, England
May 4, 2026Ksar Ouled Soltane, Tataouine district in southern Tunisia
Jul 14, 2024La Geria wine region, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
Apr 19, 2026Mirror Beach, Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil
Sep 6, 2025Rufous hummingbird
Nov 3, 2024Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, Yucatán, Mexico
Jun 17, 2024Green-crowned brilliant
Oct 16, 2024Jurassic Coast, Dorset, England
Oct 12, 2024Wood duck, Quebec, Canada
May 10, 2025Castildetierra in the Bardenas Reales, Navarre, Spain
Mar 7, 2025Plum blossoms, China
Dec 20, 2025Red fox
Feb 24, 2025Giant cuttlefish, Whyalla, South Australia, Australia
Nov 19, 2024Tasmans Arch, Tasman National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Oct 10, 2023Mount Sopris, Colorado, USA
May 8, 2025Donkeys in a valley near Rhyolite, Nevada, United States
Mar 27, 2024Tea plantation near Munnar, India