The Bozeman courier., 1927-07-22
MAP IS CHANGED
BY ENGINEERING
Accomplishments in This
Science Among Won
ders of the World.


in Pennsylvania to an artificial cut So
that it's old bed may be filed and used
for a railroad yard is a recent skir-
Inish In the long battle Of man to
change the face of the earth.
"The accomplishments of civiliza-
ton most easily noticed are in large |
part engineering accomplishments"
says a bulletin from the Washington
headquarters of the National Geo
graphic society. $50 indefatigably has |
man busted himself making over his |
environment that much of his handi-
work would stand out to an. observer
posted on the moon with a telescope
equal to our best. The irregular
splOtches Of our cities with their
straight lines would show up all
around the world. Here and there
railroads and their cuts and clearings
would catch the eye as would some
long straight stretches Of highway.
'The most ancient Of the earth's
great structures. the Pyramid OF
CheOps. should be plainly visible, es-
peciaIly when two sides are in shad-
ow and the moon observer could prob
ably pick out that other old engineer
ing triumph, the Great Wall of China,
shaking fits $500 miles over mountains
and valleys. Few canals. probably,
would appear to such hypothetical
survey from the moon. since they
would be indistinguishable. for the
most part. from natural streams.
"The terrestrial observer who seeks
evidences of mans reshaping Of the
earth will find them on every hand.
On our own continent and in Europe.
especially, a veritable network Of rail-
ways and roads lies over the country
side. There are few major streams
| but that are spanned by bridges or
made by dams to stand and deliver
water for irrigation or power to be
turned to any use that mans whim
may dictate. goodly number Of our
hills and mountains have been honey
combed by the shafts and galleries OF
mines, or pierced by railway tunnels
Man has even burrOwed his way under
great rivers to make way for city
transit lines. railways. vehicles and
foot passengers.
Cities Present Engineering Feats.
"Every great city is itself a huge
and never-inished engineering task.
There are few residents of New York
or London or Paris who would not be
surprised. If cross-sections Of their
city could be laid bare. at the COM
plexity of its underground facilities,
its multiplicity Of subways, water tun-
nels and pipes, wire-cOnduits and sew
ers. Above ground buildings are con-
stantly being erected and demolished,
railways repaired. pavement laid. Gal
: weston, Texas, owes its continued ex-
istence to a great granite sea-wall /;
New Orleans, to its levees Venice
and Leningrad rise in large part from
multitude of piles driven into mud
banks; and other cities In various
parts of the world must credit engi.
neering skill for their sites or fol
their protection.
zone Of the most striking debts of q
country to engineering is to be found
+ In the Netherlands. The cOuntry's
!. name itself hints at the story; nearly
a half its area lies below the level Ot
j the sea which is kept from enguIfinG
the lowlands only by hundreds o.
miles Of man-made dikes and sluice
:, gates. And only constant watchful
: ness and work keeps this beIow-sea
z level country habitable. Embankment'
: must be patroled and repaired con
stantly. Seepage continues night an.
q day and pumps must be kept operating
continually to lift millions Of gallons
of water from the lowest catchmen
= basins to canals high enough to carr.
. it into the sea.
2 Canals were among the earlies
= important engineering projects under
q taken by man. Near the dawn Of his
tory some 5000 years ago great irrl
cation canals that were virtually art
n fetal rivers existed In the valleys O
x the Tigris and Euphrates rivers 4
" MesOpOtamia. They were demoIishe
I by Mongol invaders TOO years az
: but traces OF the huge channels still
remain. In Egypt a ship canal cor
Meeting the Nile and the Red sea wa
= dug 1000 years before Christ. In tn
; Fifth century B. G. the Chinese b.
gan the Grand canal, finished II Ger
turtles later. This S5OAmIle waterwa
Id Is the oldest and longest boat canal 1
existence.
I'd Dams Are Recent Devices.
~All the earlier canals were InIanl
Not until 1859. when the Suez cans
was completed. did the world posses
an inter-oceanic waterway. It's onI
rival has been the Panama cans
at opened In 1914. These two waterway
ca between the oceans. one costing S121
81 100000 and the other more than twiC
that much. probably deserve to ran
i'll at the top Of the worlds engineerir
be achievements.
''Dams are relatively recent devic'
ln so far as large streams are CO.
cerned. No word OF dam-busldlng o