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 man-made 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 Wonders 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 Wonders of the Ancient World

The historian Herodotus (484 BC–ca. 425 BC), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305–240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of "Seven wonders" but their writings have not survived, except as references. Their wonders included:

Great Pyramid of Giza

Hanging 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 Great Barrier Reef

The London sewerage system's original Abbey Mills pumping station

Machu Picchu

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 Locations

Channel Tunnel

December 1, 1987 May 6, 1994

Strait of Dover, between the United Kingdom and France

CN Tower

February 6, 1973

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

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Empire State Building

January 22, 1930 May 1, 1931 New York, NY, U.S.

Golden Gate Bridge

January 5, 1933 May 27, 1937

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

Itaipu Dam

January 1970 May 5, 1984 Paraná River, between

Brazil and Paraguay

Delta Works 1950 May 10, 1997 Netherlands

Panama Canal

January 1, 1880 January 7, 1914 Isthmus of Panama

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. Giza pyramid complex 2. Great Wall of China 3. Taj Mahal 4. Machu Picchu 5. Bali 6. Angkor Wat 7. Forbidden City 8. Bagan Temples & Pagodas 9. 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 978-

0751328868 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 0-385-49062-3

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.