If you haven’t heard the news yet, the “New7Wonders of Nature” have been announced. First some background,.. then the new 7 Wonders,.. then 2 “Buts.”
So, the New7Wonders of Nature project was stated in 2007 and led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber, with organizational work done by the Swiss-based New7Wonders Foundation. Through a global poll, the project was to come up with a list of 7 natural wonders. Hundreds of millions of people from around the world voted up until Friday night (11/11/11).
440 participants from 220 countries were narrowed down to 77 and were later narrowed down to 28 “Official Finalist Candidates.”
The New7Wonders of Nature are officially (in alphabetical order):
1. Amazon Rainforest & River (Several South American Countries)
2. Halong Bay (Vietnam)
3. Iguaza / Iguaçu Falls (Argentina & Brazil)
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4. Jeju Island (South Korea)
5. Komodo Island (Indonesia)
6. Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines)
7. Table Mountain (South Africa)
Pretty amazing places.
More from Weber:
Now, my two “Buts….”
The first but: While I love the attention brought to these natural wonders, there are just so many wonders in the world, all over the world and even in every square meter (or square foot) of the world, that it seems unjust to name only 7 “Natural Wonders.” I know, I know… I’m being semantic. But, truthfully, the first thing that came to my mind was, everything is a wonder!! The next thought that came to my mind, however, was that this “Next7Wonders” competition or list made me think about that and brought my attention to the infinite wonders of the world, so kudos to the project and Weber!
My second but: Just wanted to let you know that the 7 winners above are provisional winners (based on the first vote count on 11/11/11). The official winners will not be confirmed until 2012, and one of the amazing natural wonders you probably haven’t heard about that could still potentially take the place of one of the provisional winners above, is the Masurian Lake District in Poland, where I now live :D. So, if you happen to want to see this finalist and you stop into Poland, let me know!
