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Wonders of the World

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as depicted by 16th-century Dutch artist Marten Heemskerk For other uses, see Wonders of the World (disambiguation). Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled over the ages to catalogue the most spectacular man-made constructions and natural things in the world. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of the most remarkable manmade creations of classical antiquity, and was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it to be magical.[1] Many similar lists have been made, including lists for the Medieval World and the Modern World.

Seven Wonder s of the Ancient World The Great Pyramid of Giza, the only wonder of the ancient world still in existence

The Colosseum in Rome

The Great Wall of China

Taj Mahal

Golden Gate Bridge

The Itaipu hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River

Chichen Itza

Potala Palace

Old City of Jerusalem

The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights

Main article : Seven Wond ers of the Ancie nt World The historian Herodotus (484 BC–ca. 425 BC), and The Great Barrier Reef the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305–240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of The London sewerage system's original Abbey Mills pumping station "Seven wonders" but their writings have not survived, except as references. Their wonders included: 

     

Great Pyram id of Giza Machu Picchu Hangi ng Gardens of Babylon Statue of Zeus at Olympia Temple of Artemis at Ephesus Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus Colossus of Rhodes Lighthouse of Alexandria

The earliest lists had the Ishtar Gate as the seventh wonder of the world instead of the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The Greek category was not "Wonders" but "thaumata"(Greek: Θαύματα), which translates closer to "miracles". The list that we know today was compiled in the Middle Ages—by which time many of the sites were no longer in existence. Today, the only ancient world wonder that still exists is the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Wonders of the Medieval World Many lists of "wonders of the world" are said to have existed during the Middle Ages, although it is unlikely that these lists originated at that time because the word medieval was not even invented until the Enlightenment-era, and the concept of a "Middle Age" did not become popular until the 16th century. Brewer's refers to them as "later list[s]"[2] suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages. Many of the structures on these lists were built much earlier than the Medieval Ages, but were well known.[3] These lists go by names such as "Wonders of the Middle Ages" (implying no specific limitation to seven), "Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages", "Medieval Mind" and "Architectural Wonders of the Middle Ages". Typically representative of the seven greatest wonders of the Medieval world are:[3][4][5][2]       

Stonehenge Colosseum Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa Great Wall of China Porcelain Tower of Nanjing Hagia Sophia Leaning Tower of Pisa

Other sites included on such lists:    

Taj Mahal[6] Cairo Citadel[7] Ely Cathedral[8] Cluny Abbey[9]

Wonders of the modern world Many lists have been made of the greatest structures built during modern times or of the greatest wonders existing today. Some of the most notable lists are presented below.

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers compiled a list of wonders of the modern world:[10]

Wonder

Date Started

Date Finished

Channel Tunnel

December 1, May 6, 1994 1987

CN Tower

February 6, 1973

Locations

Strait of Dover, between the United Kingdom and France

June 26, 1976, tallest land structure in the world until September 12, 2007. Surpassed by Burj Dubai

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

May 1, 1931

New York, NY, U.S.

May 27, 1937

Golden Gate Strait, north of San Francisco, California, U.S.

May 5, 1984

Paraná River, between Brazil and Paraguay

Delta Works 1950

May 10, 1997

Netherlands

Panama Canal

January 7, 1914

Isthmus of Panama

Empire State January 22, Building 1930

Golden Gate January 5, Bridge 1933

Itaipu Dam

January 1970

January 1, 1880

New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World Main article: New Seven Wonders of the World In 2001 an initiative was started by Swiss corporation New Open World Corporation (NOWC) to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments for

profit.[11] Twenty-one finalists were announced January 1, 2006.[12] Egypt was not happy with the fact that the only original wonder would have to compete with the likes of the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House, and other landmarks; and called the project absurd. To solve this, Giza was named an honorary Candidate.[13] The results were announced on July 7, 2007 in Benfica's stadium in a big ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal,[14] and are:

Wonder

Date of construction

Location

Great Wall of China

5th century BCE – 16th century CE China

Petra

6th century BCE

Jordan

Christ the Redeemer

Opened 12 October 1931

Brazil

Machu Picchu

c.1450

Peru

Chichen Itza

c.600

Mexico

Roman Colosseum

Completed 80 CE

Italy

Taj Mahal

Completed c.1648

India

Great Pyramid (Honorary Candidate) Completed c.2560 BCE

Egypt

USA Today's New Seven Wonders In November 2006 the American national newspaper USA Today in conjunction with the American television show Good Morning America revealed a list of New Seven Wonders as chosen by six judges.[15] The wonders were announced one per day over a week on Good Morning America. An eighth wonder was chosen on November 24 from viewer feedback.[16]

Number

Wonder

Location

1

Potala Palace

Lhasa, Tibet, China

2

Old City of Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Israel

3

Polar ice caps

Polar regions

4

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Hawaii, United States

5

Internet

N/A

6

Mayan ruins

Yucatán Peninsula, México

7

Great Migration of Serengeti and Masai Mara

Tanzania and Kenya

8

Grand Canyon (viewer-chosen eighth wonder)

Arizona, United States

Seven Natural Wonders of the World See also: Natural 7 Wonders Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the world, as there has been debate over how large the list should be. One of the many lists was compiled by CNN:[17]       

Grand Canyon Great Barrier Reef Harbour of Rio de Janeiro Mount Everest Aurora Parícutin volcano Victoria Falls

Seven wonders of the underwater world The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World was a list drawn up by CEDAM International, an American-based non-profit group for divers, dedicated to ocean preservation and research.

In 1989 CEDAM brought together a panel of marine scientists, including Dr. Eugenie Clark, to pick underwater areas which they considered to be worthy of protection. The results were announced at The National Aquarium in Washington DC by actor Lloyd Bridges, who played in a TV show titled Sea Hunt:[18] [19]       

Palau Belize Barrier Reef Great Barrier Reef Deep-Sea Vents Galápagos Islands Lake Baikal Northern Red Sea

Seven Wonders of the Industrial World Main article: Seven Wonders of the Industrial World British author Deborah Cadbury wrote Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, a book telling the stories of seven great feats of engineering of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 2003 the BBC made a seven-part documentary series on the book, with each episode dramatising the construction one of the wonders. The seven industrial wonders are:       

SS Great Eastern Bell Rock Lighthouse Brooklyn Bridge London sewerage system First Transcontinental Railroad Panama Canal Hoover Dam

Travel wonders of the world Travel writer Howard Hillman is one of many such writers who has compiled lists of the top man-made[20] and natural[21] tourist travel wonders of the world: Man-made travel wonders 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Giza pyramid complex Great Wall of China Taj Mahal Machu Picchu Bali Angkor Wat Forbidden City Bagan Temples & Pagodas Karnak Temple

10. Teotihuacán Natural travel wonders 1. Serengeti Migration 2. Galápagos Islands 3. Grand Canyon 4. Iguazu Falls 5. Amazon Rainforest 6. Ngorongoro Crater 7. Great Barrier Reef 8. Victoria Falls 9. Bora Bora 10. Cappadocia

Further reading    



Ash, Russell, "Great Wonders of the World". Dorling Kindersley. 2000. ISBN 9780751328868 Cox, Reg, and Neil Morris, "The Seven Wonders of the Modern World". Chelsea House Publications: Library. October 2000. ISBN 0-7910-6048-9 Cox, Reg, Neil Morris, and James Field, "The Seven Wonders of the Medieval World". Chelsea House Publications: Library. October 2000. ISBN 0-7910-6047-0 D'Epiro, Peter, and Mary Desmond Pinkowish, "What Are the Seven Wonders of the World? and 100 Other Great Cultural Lists". Anchor. December 1, 1998. ISBN 0-38549062-3 Morris, Neil, "The Seven Wonders of the Natural World". Chrysalis Books. December 30, 2002. ISBN 1-84138-495-X

External links     

The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World In More Details. Seven Wonders of the Modern World - a list of modern wonders compiled by the American Society of Civil Engineers Video about the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, a virtual satellite tour made with Google Earth [02:38] The New 7 Wonders of the World - A new list of seven wonders of the world. 7 Wonders of the World Collections - sets of seven abandoned, deserted, underwater and underground wonders of the world.