The Search for Seven Wonders

Posted on 26. Aug, 2009 by Kerry Banks in Travel Blog

Matterhorn; courtesy Ron Layters, flickr.com

Will wonders never cease? Not apparently if Bernard Weber has anything to say about it. Following up on the runaway success of his global contest to select the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, the Swiss-born Canadian entrepreneur and founder of the New Open World Corporation, is now running a campaign to choose The New Seven Wonders of Nature. If you want to cast your vote, simply log on to http://www.vote7.com/n7w&nbsp where you will find photos and descriptions of all the finalists.

Niagara Falls; courtesy Insight, flickr.com

The contest, which was lauched in 2008, has since whittled a list of 261 nominees down to 28. On July 21, 2009, a panel of experts chaired by Federico Mayor, former chief of UNESCO, picked the 28 finalists based on geographical balance, diversity and the importance to human life, from a list of 77 nominees that had collected the most votes in an early round of polling. The world’s top seven natural wonders will be selected by a global poll conducted using the Internet, phone and text message, with the official final announcement slated for 2011.

The list of finalists includes a wide range of natural wonders including rivers, islands, waterfalls, forests and rock formations, and hail from all corners of the Earth. Among the more familiar wonders are Australia’s Uluru (Ayers Rock), the Great Barrier Reef, the Amazon Rainforest, Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro, Switzerland’s Matterhorn, Germany’s Black Forest and Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands. Canada is represented by two wonders: Niagara Falls and the Bay of Fundy. The only site included from the U.S. is the Grand Canyon.

In addition to the usual supsects, a number of obscure locales made the list, such as Lebanon’s Jeita Grotto, Azerbaijan’s Mud Volcanoes, Poland’s Lake Musurian District, Korea’s Jeju Island, the United Arab Emirates’ Bu Tinah Shoals, Puerto Rico’s El Yunque Rainforest, and Nigeria’s Zuma Rock.

Uluru; courtesy Becky E.; flickr.com

Judging by past evidence, the voting will be intense. About 100 million people cast ballots in the selection of the seven man-made wonders in 2007. The winners were Rome’s Colosseum, the Great Wall of China; India’s Taj Mahal, Jordan’s Petra; Rio’s Christ the Redeemer Statue; Peru’s Machu Picchu; and the Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico.

Weber says he expects more than a billion people to participate in the voting this time. ”This campaign should contribute to the appreciation–to the knowledge—of our environment and not just the one in our country but worldwide,” he told the Associated Press. “If we or our children want to save anything, we should first appreciate it.” Weber declined to give any numbers of votes so far. But the organization plans to release detail about voter profiles later, he added. Registration on the Web site aims to prevent people from voting twice.

New Zealand's Milford Sound; courtesy Swisscan, flickr.com

Although the contest is to pick the “New” Seven Wonders of the Natural World, there is actually no consensus as to what constitutes the original seven natural wonders. There are several lists floating around on the Internet. The most popular one includes Mt. Everest, the Great Barrier Reef, the Northern Lights, the Grand Canyon, Mexico’s Paricutin Volcano, Victoria Falls, and the harbour of Rio De Janeiro.

So which natural wonders do you think deserve to make the final seven? Let us know.

Lead image by benisntfunny; flickr.com