A gabion is a wire mesh cage or basket filled with stones. Gabions are useful in construction works, for example to protect earth embankments, to line channels, to manage or divert river or stream flow and to protect river banks or coastlines.
A gabion is a cage, cylinder, or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, military applications and landscaping.
The standard gabion basket consists of a single piece of wire mesh that can be assembled to form a
rectangular box with a lid.
Gabions Advantages
- Economy, using locally available stones that cost nothing cheaper than other forms of coastal defence.
- Rock cages absorb wave energy
- Homogeneity and stability, holding together and maintaining strong resistance to water current. Although containing small units (rocks, stones), each basket acts like a single large unit;
- Pliability, adapting their shape easily to the ground contours even as these change gradually
- Permeability, allowing water to run through and act as filters for finer soil particles, thus giving
protection to less stable materials; - The simplicity of design and easy, rapid construction
Gabions Disadvantages
- Wire cages can break and they need to be securely tied down
- Not as efficient as other coastal defences
Gabion work examples images
