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

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

Getting starry-eyed at the moon
Sep 10, 2023Grandparents Day
Sep 10, 2025Hay bales in North Yorkshire, England

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May 13, 2024Fish River Canyon, Namibia
Apr 12, 2025International Day of Human Space Flight
Nov 11, 2024Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Aug 23, 2024Prasat Phanom Rung temple ruins, Thailand
Apr 19, 2024Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland
Stars in daylight
Jan 23, 2024Maldives
Jan 18, 2024Pont Alexandre III, Paris, France
Jun 14, 2025Cinque Torri, Dolomiti, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Belluno, Veneto, Italy
Jun 24, 2025Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah, United States
Jan 3, 2024Virupaksha temple, Hampi, Karnataka
Sep 13, 2024Point Reyes National Seashore, California, USA
Jul 10, 2025Guru Purnima
Dec 26, 2025Boxing Day
Oct 2, 2024Gandhi Jayanti
Dec 8, 2024Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
Jun 1, 2025World Reef Awareness Day
A proud symbol of the City of Nizams
Apr 22, 2026Earth Day
Rainbow around the sun
Black-and-white bovines
Jun 3, 2026World Bicycle Day
Oct 20, 2025Hoffmanns two-toed sloth, Ecuador
A sea of humanity
Nov 14, 2023Russell lupines, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
A beacon in the golden light
Nov 20, 2025Mother manatee and calf, Crystal River, Florida, United States
Aug 18, 2025Avalanche Lake Trail at Adirondack High Peaks, New York, United States
Dec 4, 2024Navy Day
Dec 12, 2024Poinsettia