Lake Burley Griffin
Lake Burley Griffin is a lake in Canberra, Australia's capital. It was 1963/64, created when the current flowing through the city center Molonglo River was dammed. The lake is named after the architect Walter Burley Griffin, who won the design competition for the city of Canberra.
The lake is located approximately in the geographic center of the city at an altitude of 556 m above sea level. NN, according to Griffin's original plans. Numerous important institutions such as the National Library of Australia are located on its banks or the Parliament House a short distance away from it. The lake is mostly in the warmer months, a popular recreation area: Although swimming is rather unusual, but used the lake for many other activities such as boating, fishing and sailing.
Design
Charles Scrivener had in 1909 recommended the location for the new capital Canberra and its detailed maps of the area were sent to the architects who participated in the urban planning competition. As a member of the Design Commission Scrivener was later responsible for modifying Griffin victorious project. He recommended to build weirs instead of a single dam to give Griffins rather geometric shape of the lake seemingly a natural-looking shape. The new design involved several elements of the best losing competition proposals with a. In the following years, Griffin even made some improvements.
The jammed by the 33 m high Scrivener Dam lake contains 33 million m³ of water at a surface of 6.64 km ². It is 11.2 kilometers long and at its widest point, 1.2 km wide; the shore line is 40.5 km long. In the lake there are six islands, the three smallest bear no name. Aspen Iceland is located in the central basin, while Springbank and Spinnaker Iceland Iceland are in the western basin.
Formation
The construction of Lake Burley Griffin began in 1960 and made good progress, because a drought had significantly reduced the amount of water of the Molonglo River. Critics of the project feared that the lake could become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. It was placed on a special value to dredge the lake to a minimum depth of 2 m to prevent the mosquitoes from multiplying and creating the boat keels enough space. The depth of the lake ranges from 2 m at the eastern end to 18 m at the dam; the average depth is 4 m.
The Scrivener Dam, named after Charles Scrivener is 33 m high and 319 m long. With a 30.5 m wide, hydraulically driven, five-part Fluttor the lake level can be regulated precisely. The dam consists of 55,000 cubic meters of concrete, the wall is up to 19.7 m thick. On top of the wall is a road. The dam is constructed so that he encountered one every 5000 years can withstand particularly heavy flood.
When the valves of the dam were closed on September 20, 1963, the drought continued further, which is why the lake is filled slowly. After seven months, the lake was still a small trickle with a few mosquito -infested pools. But then attended several heavy rain showers that the lake was filled after a few days.
On October 17, 1964 Prime Minister Robert Menzies took place the official inauguration of the lake. Interior Minister Gordon Freeth suggested for the lake called " Lake Menzies " before. Menzies refused, however, and insisted that the lake is named after Walter Burley Griffin, because he had had the original idea for it and it in Canberra still no monument in his honor was ( Griffin even called normally Walter Griffin, but had in Australia the form " Walter Burley Griffin " enforced ).
In prolonged dry periods, the lake level can sometimes fall below the desired height. This is balanced by the Googong Dam on the Queanbeyan River, a tributary of the Molonglo River, opens. The Googong Dam was built in 1979 to keep up with the increased demand for water in the cities of Canberra and Queanbeyan can; It holds up to 124,500 million liters of water.
Bridges
The Lake Burley Griffin can be crossed in three places; on the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge (length: 310 meters), the Kings Avenue Bridge (length: 270 m ) and on the road that leads over the Scrivener Dam. The two bridges were built prior to the filling of the lake. They have been built so that sailboats with tall masts can pass unhindered. On both bridges rolls the traffic directionally; Commonwealth Avenue Bridge has three, the Kings Avenue Bridge, two lanes in each direction. The ideal position for both bridges was determined end 1959/Anfang 1960.
The road over the Scrivener Dam, Lady Denman Drive, consists of two narrow lanes.
Captain Cook Memorial
The "Captain James Cook Memorial " was commissioned by the Australian Government to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the east coast of Australia by Captain James Cook. It consists in part of a water fountain in the central basin and a globe sculpture at Regatta Point, showing the path of Cook's expeditions. The memorial was officially opened on April 25, 1970 by Queen Elizabeth II.
The two pumps the water fountain will be powered by two electric motors with an output of 560 kW. The water shoots at maximum power with a maximum speed of 260 km / h to a height of 147 m up. If only one pump is in operation, the water reached a height of 110 m. On special occasions, the water fountain is illuminated at night. The water fountain is morning 10:00 a.m. to 11:45 and in the afternoon from 14:00 bis 15:45 clock in operation during the summer months add another dimension 19:00 bis 21:00 clock. In strong winds, the fountain out of operation because the down collapsing water could obstruct traffic on the near Commonwealth Avenue Bridge else. Even at low water, the fountain is turned off.