The Weight of Water

The five moments in this challenge

1. 

   Round 1 · 1670

   The Sun King's Fountains Flow

   Versailles, France

   Defying the natural marshy landscape, King Louis XIV unveils the breathtaking hydraulic fountains of his sprawling new palace gardens, utilizing massive pumps to stage an absolute display of dominance over nature.

2. 

   Round 2 · 1964

   Diverting the Mighty Nile River

   Aswan, Egypt

   Amidst Cold War pageantry, Soviet and Egyptian leaders press a button to detonate a sand dam and divert the Nile, clearing the river bedrock for the colossal and controversial Aswan High Dam.

3. 

   Round 3 · 1913

   There It Is. Take It.

   Los Angeles, USA

   Watching a roaring cascade of diverted Owens Valley water pour into the dry San Fernando Valley, William Mulholland officially opens the massive aqueduct that will allow modern Los Angeles to boom.

4. 

   Round 4 · 605

   Emperor Yang Navigates the Grand Canal

   Yangzhou, China

   Aboard a spectacular four-story dragon barge, the Sui emperor inaugurates the massive artificial waterway linking the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, a monumental project built by millions of conscripted laborers.

5. 

   Round 5 · 4600 BC

   Engineering the Budj Bim Traps

   Budj Bim, Australia

   In a masterstroke of early engineering, the Indigenous Gunditjmara people systematically alter a volcanic landscape to channel water and farm short-finned eels, creating one of the world's oldest aquaculture systems.