Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon 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

Sep 10, 2023Walruses in Svalbard, Norway
Sep 10, 2025Hay bales in North Yorkshire, England

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May 4, 2025Plaza de España, Seville, Spain
Sep 7, 2023Camels in the desert, United Arab Emirates
Jun 2, 2025Skipper butterfly on an Echinacea flower
Sep 9, 2024Iguazu Falls at the border of Argentina and Brazil
Oct 21, 2023Persepolis, Iran
Dec 6, 2025Everglades National Park, Florida
Apr 17, 2026Grey-headed flying fox carrying her pup, Australia
Jan 27, 2024Spot-billed toucanet, Brazil
Aug 31, 2023Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona, USA
Jul 5, 2025Cize-Bolozon viaduct, France
Mar 23, 2025Lightning and storm clouds at sunset near Bowman, Nebraska, United States
Apr 13, 2025Wat Tang Sai Temple, Thailand
Nov 13, 2025Quiver trees, Namibia
Jun 2, 2024Ploumanach Lighthouse, France
Jan 12, 2024Bukhansan National Park, South Korea
May 30, 2025Little Pigeon River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, United States
Oct 25, 2023Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
Sep 14, 2024Rapa Nui National Park, Easter Island, Chile
Oct 13, 2025Waterfall at Wimbachklamm Gorge, Bavaria, Germany
May 26, 2024Methow Valley, North Cascades, Washington, USA
Jun 7, 2024Family of humpback whales, Dutch Harbour, Alaska
Mar 28, 2025Black-naped monarch
Mar 29, 2026Peggys Point Lighthouse, Atlantic Coast, Nova Scotia, Canada
Oct 21, 2024Cypress trees in George L. Smith State Park, Georgia, United States
Jan 31, 2026Plains zebras, Etosha National Park, Namibia
Dec 29, 2024Borobudur temple, Java, Indonesia
Jun 21, 2025Masai giraffes in the Serengeti
Apr 14, 2026Common clownfish in a sea anemone, Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
Sep 3, 2023Skyscrapers in Manhattan
Dec 12, 2024Poinsettia flower