Shasta County, California Bridges: Sundial Bridge across the Sacramento River (10)

October 2014 (40.5921 Degrees, -122.3775 Degrees) Sundial Bridge

Another view of the single tower on the Sundial Bridge. The tower slopes away from the superstructure, which causes the cables to push the load into the earth.  The vector that is pulling the tower forward is counterbalanced by the restoring weight of the tower (and by the fixed bearing).

The 14 cables are attached to the tower with stubby elements resembling the ribs on a fish's vertebrae (although Calatrava said the tower represents to him the movement of a bird in flight).

The ground around the tower is planted with grasses that can survive on drought-like conditions, which the area is currently experiencing. There's a botanical outdoor garden next to the bridge that features plants with low-water needs that can be planted instead of lawns to help conserve water.

Shasta County, California Bridges: Sundial Bridge across the Sacramento River (10) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.