Venice Geography

The city of Venice has one major waterway called the Grand Canal which winds throughout the entire city, interconnected with many smaller, and narrower canals.Because of the many canals scattered through Venice, modern age Venice is faced with many geological problems such as sinking, and climate. Although Venice is an extremely old city, it still incorporates modern technologies and cultures to create booming tourism and a great economy. With the interesting geographical features like the canals, it is no surprise that many problems occur from these features, but also generates a phenomenal economy and tourism industry.

The Canals of Venice The canals of Venice, Italy are the most important geological feature that makes Venice, Venice.The canals run throughout the city allowing them to be water-traffic corridors. In total there are 150 distinct canals with the most important and largest being the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal splits the city almost directly in half because of its shape. It forms a large “S” shape. The canal is 3,800 meters long, with average widths of 30-90 meters, and average depths close to five meters.

The water in the canals is a mixture of fresh water from a nearby river, and salt water from the Mediterranean Sea, creating a mixture called “brackish” water.Venice as a city is built on large piles of mud which means The Grand Canal was created because of an earlier river which eroded the mud over time causing there to be a wider canal then most others in Venice. To create building on this mud, wooden piles had to be driven into the mud, which is why you see large wooden support structures underneath buildings along the Grand Canal. Since these canals are the roadways of Venice, transportation is mostly seen by water buses, water taxis, and for the tourists, gondolas.The Grand Canal and the many subsidiary canals of Venice are very majestic, but also extremely problematic for the city’s infrastructure. The Geography of Venice The geography of which Venice is located is completely different than anything seen in the rest of the world.

Venice is built on large wood piles which have been around for centuries. When wood is underwater, and has a mineral-rich flow constantly surrounding it, it turns hard, almost like stone. Although what supports the buildings is extremely strong, underneath these supports is not.Aquifers are everywhere underneath Venice and are a major cause of sublimation.

Around the 20th century, people started to drill Artesian wells into the ground, which caused the aquifers to slowly sink, flooding many buildings, as well as lowering much of the city closer to the water. Another problem that the sinking affects is the rising levels of water in the Adriatic Sea, because when Venice was built in 421, the sea was 5 meters lower then it is now. With these rising water levels, it can be predicted that all the ground floors and walkways would be submersed in water by 2055.Due to its already low height above water, the buildings are subject to immense amounts of flooding because of changing tides.

The tides often fill the ground floors of buildings, often rendering them useless. To combat this problem, the Italian government put in place a system of inflatable pontoons to block rising tides when they get over 110 cm, to prevent extensive amounts of damage. This project is called project MOSES, and is to be fully completed and operational by 2014. Another problem the city faces because of its geological features is the brackish waters contained in the canals.This water slowly erodes buildings so that they decay extremely quickly, and need to be rebuilt very often.

The climate in Venice is a Humid Subtropical witch cool winters and hot summers. It has an average precipitation of 801 millimetres spread throughout the year. Due to the challenging geographical landscape the people of Venice have to deal with, they are forced to come up with interesting ways to live in their environment. Modern Venice Modern Venice is a wonderful sight.

It has a booming economy, a large tourism industry, interesting transportation, as well as culture.Before the 17th century, Venice was a major hub for commerce and trade because it controlled a vast sea empire. After the 17th century Venice was taken over by Portugal, which reduced Venice’s naval power. In the 18th century, Venice became an industrial and agricultural exporter of goods. In modern times the economy of Venice is mostly simulated by the Murano glass production, as well as tourism.

The city receives a daily visitation of about 50,000 people. In 2006 the city was ranked 28th most visited city, having slightly less than 3 million visitors.There are many places to visit in Venice like St. Marks Basilica, the Grand Canal, as well as the Lidio di Venezia. Because of the enormous amount of visitors, the city becomes extremely overcrowded, and home prices have become extremely expensive.

Transportation in Venice is completely different than the rest of the world because its streets are paved with water. The main form of transportation is walking, or on water. Boats replace buses and taxis as forms of public transportation. Venice is a car free area, with one parking lot near the causeway that connects it to the main land.

Getting into Venice can be done by car or train. Venice is an extremely unordinary city when it comes to the way they live their daily lives, as well as the things they have to do in order to live in Venice. Conclusion Venice is a phenomenal city because of its massive value. It has an enormous economic value based on tourism and industry which generates millions of dollars a year for the local economy. It is one of the longest lasting cities in the world because it is still standing on the original wooden support beams drilled centuries ago.The city is also wonderful with the many old buildings, and the numerous majestic canals.

Although much good comes from Venice, there are a lot of downsides to the city. It is dirty because of improper sewage management, as well as the continual maintenance of buildings due to their age, and vulnerability of their location. Although the costs for maintaining a city like Venice are high, it is an economically viable city based on the large amount of tourism received because of the geography of the land.