Reflecting pool

This article is about all reflecting pools, for the two named reflecting pools see Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and Capitol Reflecting Pool.

Wells Cathedral in the reflecting pool of the garden of the Bishop's Palace

A reflecting pool or reflection pool is a water feature found in gardens, parks, and at memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water, undisturbed by fountain jets, for a reflective surface.

Design

Reflecting pools are often designed with the outer basin floor at the rim slightly deeper than the central area to suppress wave formation. They can be as small as a bird bath to as large as a major civic element. Their origins are from ancient Persian gardens.

List of notable pools

The Miroir d'eau by night in Bordeaux, France.

• The Miroir d'eau (Water mirror) on Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux, France, is the World's largest reflecting pool.^[1]
• The Mughal garden reflecting pools at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India
• Chehel Sotoun in Iran
• The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and Capitol Reflecting Pool, in Washington, D.C.
• The modernist Palácio do Planalto and Palácio da Alvorada in Brasília, Brazil
• The King Center in Atlanta, Georgia commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• The Oklahoma City National Memorial, at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing
• The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, a former reflecting pool was located in front of the stage, circa 1953 - 1972.^[2]
• The National September 11 Memorial & Museum, located in New York City, has two reflecting pools on the location where the Twin Towers stood.

Gallery

• 

  The reflecting pool of the Taj Mahal

• 

  The reflecting pool in the Patio de los Arrayanes, at the Moorish Alhambra of Granada, Spain

• 

  Reflecting pool at the China Pavilion, Epcot Center, Florida

• 

  Reflecting pool of the Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion), Kyoto, Japan

• 

  A World Heritage Persian garden site, Chehel Sotoun, in Iran.

• 

  Reflecting Pool at the University of Western Australia

• 

  Reflecting pond at the Christchurch Arts Centre in New Zealand

• 

  Reflecting pool of the Palácio do Planalto (Planalto Palace), in Brazil's modernist capital city Brasília

• 

  Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.

• 

  Lincoln Memorial from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.

• 

  Reflecting pool at the Christian Science Church in Boston, Massachusetts

• 

  Reflecting pool in Hermann Park in Houston, Texas

• 

  The North Reflecting Pool at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at dusk, World Trade Center, New York

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reflecting pools.

Ponds, pools and puddles Ponds Ash pond Balancing pond Ballast pond Beel Cooling pond Detention pond Dew pond Evaporation pond Facultative pond Garden pond Ice pond Immersion pond Kettle pond Log pond Melt pond Mill pond Raceway pond Retention pond Sag pond Salt evaporation pond Sediment pond Settling pond Solar pond Stabilization pond Stepwell Stew pond Stormwater management pond Polishing pond Tailings pond Tarn Treatment pond Waste pond Pools Anchialine pool Brine pool Natural pool Plunge pool Reflecting pool Spent fuel pool Stream pool Swimming pool Tide pool Vernal pool Puddles Bird bath Coffee ring effect Puddle Puddles on a surface Seep puddle Biota Beaver pond Duck pond Fish pond Goldfish pond Koi pond Ecosystems Freshwater ecosystem Lake ecosystem Lentic ecosystem Pond ecosystem Related topics Aerated pond Bakki shower Big fish–little pond Body of water Full pond Hydric soil Phytotelma Water aeration Pond of Abundance Pond liner Ponding The Pond Puddle (M C Escher) Spring Swimming hole Water garden Water Lilies (Monet) Water well