After two years of vote-casting by millions of people from across the globe, a new list of the “New 7 Wonders of Nature” has been revealed. Reducing a planet full of incredible, breathtaking, and awe-inspiring sites to a mere handfull was no easy task — but while it is arguably inappropriate to pit nature’s most beautiful places in such a competition, the organization behind the list hopes it will help the top spots “in becoming part of global memory for humankind forever.” In the end, however, the list is a bit more remarkable for the countless wonders it lacks than the ones it contains.
The campaign was launched by the group’s founder Bernard Weber who hoped to revive the listing convention originated by Ancient Greeks in naming the 7 Wonders of the World more than two thousand years ago. “So many breathtakingly beautiful, natural places are still quite unknown to many. From waterfalls to fjords, rainforests to mountain peaks, freshwater lakes to volcanoes, we are discovering together the incredible beauty and variety of our planet,” says Webber.
According to New7Wonders, the group that organized the international competition, from an original list composed of around 440 nominated locales, seven ‘provisional’ top wonders have been selected with the input of over a million international voters. An official announcement of the winning sites is expected some time early next year. But in lieu of any changes, the list of the final seven is as follows
Source: Treehugger.
Iguazú Falls - Argentina
Halong Bay, Vietnam
Table Mountain, South Africa
Amazon Rain Forest
Komodo Islands
Jeju Island, South Korea
Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines
The campaign was launched by the group’s founder Bernard Weber who hoped to revive the listing convention originated by Ancient Greeks in naming the 7 Wonders of the World more than two thousand years ago. “So many breathtakingly beautiful, natural places are still quite unknown to many. From waterfalls to fjords, rainforests to mountain peaks, freshwater lakes to volcanoes, we are discovering together the incredible beauty and variety of our planet,” says Webber.
According to New7Wonders, the group that organized the international competition, from an original list composed of around 440 nominated locales, seven ‘provisional’ top wonders have been selected with the input of over a million international voters. An official announcement of the winning sites is expected some time early next year. But in lieu of any changes, the list of the final seven is as follows
Source: Treehugger.
Iguazú Falls - Argentina
Photograph by Magdalena Biskup
Iguazu Falls are on the border between the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones, and are surrounded by two National Parks (BR/ARG). Both are subtropical rainforests that are host to hundreds of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna.Halong Bay, Vietnam
Photograph by Steven Vidler
“Halong Bay is located in Quáng Ninh province, Vietnam. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes."Table Mountain, South Africa
Photograph by Heiko Meyer
“Table Mountain is a South African icon and the only natural site on the planet to have a constellation of stars named after it – Mensa, meaning “the table.”Amazon Rain Forest
Photograph from Amazon Images/Alamy
“The Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia, the Amazon jungle or the Amazon Basin, encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), though the forest itself occupies some 5.5 million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres), located within nine nations.Komodo Islands
Photograph by Mauricio Handler, National Geographic
“Indonesia’s Komodo National Park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller ones, for a total area of 1,817 square kilometers (603 square kilometers of it land).Jeju Island, South Korea
Photograph by Lonely Planet Images/Alamy
“Jejudo is a volcanic island, 130 km from the southern coast of Korea. The largest island and smallest province in Korea, the island has a surface area of 1,846 sqkm.Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines
Photograph by David Tipling, Alamy
“The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. navigable underground river.
These are indeed beautiful!