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Civil engineering Smeaton's Tower, a red and white striped lighthouse, stands on a grassy area overlooking the water at Plymouth Hoe in Plymouth, England. Bridge to the mainland Lobito California Aqueduct Large concrete dam under construction with cranes, scaffolding, and construction materials, part of the Yamba dam project in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. Tsuruga Trans-Alaska Pipeline Side-by-side diagrams compare the trench and area methods of constructing a sanitary landfill, showing waste collection trucks and bulldozers layering compacted solid waste with daily and final earth covers on original ground, with labeled parts but without liners or leachate systems. Rows of solar panels and tall wind turbines generating renewable energy on a snow covered plateau in Golmud, China.
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Civil engineering
Civil engineering Barge in a lock on the Grand Canal d'Alsace at Marckolsheim, Alsace, France.

civil engineering

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Written by
J. Garth Watson
Secretary, Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 1967–79.
J. Garth WatsonAll
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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civil engineering, the profession of designing and executing plans for structural works that serve the general public, such as dams, bridges, aqueducts, canals, highways, power plants, sewerage systems, and other infrastructure. The term was first used in the 18th century to distinguish the newly recognized profession from military engineering, until then preeminent. From earliest times, however, engineers have engaged in peaceful activities, and many of the civil engineering works of ancient and medieval times—such as...

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