• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Inside the world’s largest artificial islands that are often proclaimed the eighth wonder of the world

Home> News

Published 12:14 20 May 2024 GMT+1

Inside the world’s largest artificial islands that are often proclaimed the eighth wonder of the world

The Palm Jumeirah is a massive project that can be seen in space.

Prudence Wade

Prudence Wade

It's one of the most recognizable sites in the world: a man-made archipelago in the shape of a massive palm tree.

We are, of course, talking about the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, which some have dubbed the eighth wonder of the world.

Construction began in 2001, and it was no mean feat - it was built on reclaimed land, using sand dredged from the floor of the ocean.

It took a while to complete - in 2007, the first residents moved in, and in 2009, a monorail was opened to connect the islands to the mainland.

Advert

Captured Blinks Photography / Getty
Captured Blinks Photography / Getty

It's now the largest man-made archipelago in the world. A 2021 YouTube video from Impressive, a channel that looks into creative and inspiration endeavors, dove into the massive project - which is so big, it can be viewed from space.

It's apparently home to 5,000 waterfront apartments, 4,000 residential villas, 1,000 water homes and 60 luxury hotels - as well as marinas, spaces, restaurants, malls and more.

One of these luxury hotels is the famous Burj Al Arab - one of the tallest hotels in the world, it resembles the sail of a ship.

Advert

According to Impressive, it cost a whopping $13 billion to construct. To protect the luxury hotels and apartments on the archipelago, an 11km breakwater surrounds the island in a crescent shape. This shields the archipelago from the waves and winds coming across the Gulf, preventing the island's sand from being washed away.

One of the wildest things about the Palm Jumeirah? Despite its name and what it looks like, you apparently won't find any palm trees anywhere on the archipelago.

Vicki Jauron, Babylon and Beyond Photography / Getty
Vicki Jauron, Babylon and Beyond Photography / Getty

The Palm Jumeirah is the first of three massive offshore developments in Dubai, but it is the only one that is complete.

Advert

While the Palm Jumeirah could be seen as a success story, the other two - Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira, which are also set to be shaped like palm trees - are nowhere near finished.

Construction has been on hold for both projects for well over a decade - and although work on Palm Jebel Ali has been relaunched, it's uncertain when it will be finished.

That's not the only unfinished megaproject in Dubai - there's also the World Islands, which were meant to be a collection of 260 islands representing a map of the world. But construction on this one has been tricky, and the islands largely stand there deserted - with no real indication that they might ever be completed.

Featured Image Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor / Nikada / Getty
World News
Youtube

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

13 hours ago
14 hours ago
15 hours ago
  • 13 hours ago

    Donald Trump slams 'trainwreck' Elon Musk as 'off the rails' in savage social media post

    Don't cross the POTUS

    News
  • 14 hours ago

    Once booming Florida town collapses as it's crowned 'worst housing market in America'

    This comes as Florida faces devastating floods in recent years

    News
  • 14 hours ago

    Scientists make breakthrough in search for Amelia Earhart's plane that's been missing for 88 years

    Earhart mysteriously disappeared in 1937, leaving no trace of her whereabouts

    Science
  • 15 hours ago

    Student forgot he invested $27 in Bitcoin for school project and returned to stunning fortune years later

    An unexpected boost to the pension pot

    News
  • Inside Dubai’s eerie abandoned islands that cost $12,000,000,000 and were built for the mega-rich
  • Tesla Model 3 owner sees what he can buy with 111,600 Tesla credits and the results are insane
  • Critical impact world’s largest lithium mine producing 1,380,000 tons of raw material yearly could have on our planet
  • Inside the world’s first underseas roundabout part of $700,000,000 travelling system