Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a constructed system for transporting water from a source to a place of use. It may use channels, tunnels, pipes, or elevated bridges to maintain a controlled route and gradient.

Hydraulic gradient: The change in hydraulic head over a distance, indicating the direction and strength of water flow. Aqueduct channels rely on a carefully controlled gradient to carry water by gravity.
Qanat: An underground water-conveyance system that taps groundwater through gently sloping tunnels and vertical access shafts. Qanats moved water with a gravity-fed tunnel rather than an elevated bridge.
Los Angeles Aqueduct: A water-conveyance system that carries water from the Owens Valley region to Los Angeles. It illustrates how a modern city can depend on a long-distance aqueduct beyond its watershed.
Urbanization: The growth in the share of a population living in towns and cities. Reliable aqueduct supplies allowed cities to grow beyond nearby springs and rivers.
Siphon: A tube that carries liquid over a higher point when pressure differences sustain continuous flow. Inverted siphons let aqueducts cross valleys without building a high bridge.
Pont du Gard: A Roman aqueduct bridge in southern France, built to carry water across the Gardon River valley. This surviving structure shows how Roman engineers combined arches and a water channel.
California Aqueduct: A large system of canals, pipelines, pumping plants, and reservoirs that moves water across California. Its network shows aqueducts serving agriculture and cities across a vast region.
Water politics: Political decisions and conflicts concerning the control, allocation, and use of water. Long-distance aqueducts transfer water across communities and regions, making allocation contentious.
Arch bridge: A bridge whose loads are carried mainly through compression in one or more curved arches. Arches supported elevated aqueduct channels while spanning valleys.
Aqua Appia: Rome’s first aqueduct, built in 312 BCE largely as an underground conduit. Its mostly hidden route contrasts with the monumental bridges often associated with Roman aqueducts.

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