The Palm Islands, UAE

The Palm Islands, off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, are known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The first to be constructed was The Palm Jumeirah. The Palm Islands were constructed with natural materials only. The foundations are sand which was dredged from the sea. It was found that desert sand was not suitable. Dredges dredged sand from the Persian Gulf and using GPS the sand was sprayed to form the islands in a process called rainbowing.

To prevent erosion of the sand islands, a large breakwater was constructed using quarry blasted rocks. The breakwater stands 3 m high above the water. Finer material is in the core while the heavier rocks form the armour.

The Palm. On the right is The World, islands arranged like the continents of the world.

During construction it was discovered that water was stagnant inside the breakwater. There was no model hydraulic testing before construction and therefore it was not known that this would happen. The breakwater was then broken up in 2 areas near the shore, facing away from the waves. Bridges were constructed across the break. The break allowed water to flow into the palm islands and prevent stagnation while preventing waves from getting in.

Constructing infrastructure and structures on the sand islands.

The World is the brainchild of Crown Prince of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Located at 55^o East Longitude & 25^o North Latitude, it consists of 300 islands placed in the shape of the continents of the world.

Rainbowing.

The break in the breakwater can be seen near the top of the photo.

David Beckham has bought property on The Palm. After construction started on The Palm Jumeirah, it was decided to build two more, The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira. The Palm Deira is larger than Paris. The Crown Prince then also asked for The World to be constructed.