Travelogues & History
In 2022, waterpark operations legend, Billy Hamilton, was inducted into the World Waterpark Association Hall of Fame, honored for his pioneering work maintaining water quality on a mass scale. Here he shares his story with an eye toward the innovative spirit and experimentation that put him on the forefront of the industry’s most complex and challenging commercial facilities.
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It’s one of history’s most influential design traditions. Japanese gardens are much more than pagodas, lanterns and Bonsai trees, says Jason Brownlee. Studying these timeless gardens that are so artfully inspired by nature is, he says, one of the best ways to elevate watershape and landscape design of almost all types.
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Long before waterparks became recreational fixtures the world over, a lonely desert playground in southern California -- built on a system of muddy ponds -- revealed both the possibility, and liability, of high-octane water thrill rides.
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For most of the past century, natural waterways in Southern California have existed as lifeless concrete channels. Efforts to “regreen” some of those once-beautiful waters have given rise to hopes that the Los Angeles River, and others like it, will one day recapture their former natural health and riparian beauty.
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Geysers stand out among nature’s most enigmatic and spectacular watershape wonders, inspiring awe as they shoot scalding water and steam into the air. But how do geysers work? What is the natural mechanism behind these showy geological marvels? Here’s a look beneath the surface.
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The aqueducts it built stand as enduring symbols of the ingenuity and engineering prowess of the Roman Empire. They are among the world’s most historically significant and celebrated man-made hydraulic structures, as they continue to inspire architects and engineers to this day.
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Since its debut in February 1999 as an innovative print magazine, WaterShapes has spent the past 25 years exploring the art and science of water – and the oceans of possibilities waiting to be discovered along the way. As Eric Herman shares in this special retrospective, the long journey through the world of water has been its own unique reward.
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Her name is Kópakonan, but she is also known as “The Seal Wife,” a mythical figure known as a “selkie.” Immortalized in Nordic legend, a stunning bronze stature celebrates the rich oceanic folklore of remote Faroe Islands, and the power of art in a dramatic aquatic setting.
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What started out as an Italy trip devoted to the pursuit of fine food and wine, Lea and George Frederick, wound up deeply imbibing in the world of mosaic art at a remarkable facility in Vincenza. Here they share a slice of travelogue and images that point to the remarkable possibilities of artistically arranged bits of glass tile.
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The Waters of Yosemite: A Tale of Nature’s Majesty