This week we are challenged to feature an image or images that say “achievement” to us. From the challenge post, “This week, show us a photo that says “achievement” to you: people meeting a long-worked-for goal. Something tangible you’ve created. A view from a journey you’ve completed, or the starting point of a journey not yet made or a project you hope to finish.” Though the creator of the challenge mostly emphasizes individual achievement, as usual, I am taking a slightly different direction, collective achievement, specifically in creating large water management projects. You can read the original challenge post here.

The lead photo in my challenge entry features the magnificent, yet controversial, Glen Canyon Dam in Northern Arizona. The dam is a concrete arch, a seven year accomplishment that was completed in 1964.

The photo above features a hydraulic earthfill dam. Fort Peck Dam and Reservoir was a project of the Public Works Administration. Construction took seven years as well, and was completed in 1940. The dam is the largest hydraulically filled dam in the United States.

The greatest achievement featured in this challenge is the Panama Canal. The canal project started in 1880 and completed in 1914, with a gap of 11 years between 1893 and 1904 when the project transitioned from French administration to the United States. The image above features a freighter awaiting for the ship in the step-up lock to exit so that the water level in the lock can be lowered to the level of the freighter.

I submit for your consideration, a small gallery of images featuring these three major achievements in water management. Click on one of the images to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

Oh, by the way, on the topic of personal achievement, my wife Lynn and I are most proud of our hiking achievements. Since retiring, our goal has been to hike 100 miles in Arizona, first in a year’s time, and most recently in 100 days. You can read about the goal and see some great photos taken along the journey here.

To see more images of these watershed accomplishments, the links below will take you to my original blog posts on two of these major construction projects. In the near future, I will create a post focusing on a larger gallery of images taken at Glen Canyon Dam. In the meantime, I featured some images from the area around Page, Arizona in a previous photo challenge here.

Fort Peck Dam

Panama Canal

John Steiner