Seven Wonders of the Natural World
Mount
Everest - On May 29th, 1953, two men reached the highest
peak in the world. A feat that had eluded realization even after
the South and North Poles had been conquired.
The
Grand Canyon - Despite being more than a mile to the
bottom the Grand Canyon isn't the deepest gorge in the world,
but it certainly is the most spectacular.
The
Northern Lights - In Norse mythology the Valkyries would
come galloping across the night sky upon their horses equipped
with helmets, spears and armor that would glow and shimmer in
the darkness. These lights, colored red, blue, violet and green,
would spread in curtains from horizon to horizon, amazing the
mortals below
The
Harbor at Rio de Janeiro - On January 1st, 1502, Portuguese
explorer Gonçalo Coelho ship reached a break in the South American
seaside that seemed to be the entrance to an enormous river.
The bay they found was spectacularly surrounded by huge, oddly
shaped mountains that astounded the European explorers. Taking
a cue from the date on which they'd found this amazing harbor,
they named it the "January River" or Rio de Janeiro.
The
Great Barrier Reef - Just before 11 pm on June 11th,
1770, the HMS Endeavour, captained by Lieutenant James Cook,
ran aground. Though Cook didn't realize it at the time, the
coral reef he had run onto was part of a vast system of 3,800
coral banks and islands that ran along the coast of Australia.
Known as the Great Barrier Reef, it is the largest structure
in the world created by living organisms.
Paricutin:
The Volcano in a Cornfield - On February 20, 1943, Dionisio
Pulido was working in his cornfield just outside the Tarascan
Indian village of Paricutin, Mexico, when suddenly a volcano
appeared.
Victoria
Falls - On November 17th of 1855 David Livingstone became
the first European to see the mighty cataract. Afterward he
wrote: "No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything
witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European
eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels
in their flight."
The
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World have been around for
over a millennium so there is little dispute among people today
about what the list should include. The list of the Seven Wonders
of the Natural World, however, is a modern list. Who is to decide
of all the marvels of nature which are the top seven? Should
there even be a top seven or perhaps a top ten makes more sense?
In
1997 the Cable News Network (CNN) put together a list of what
their editors thought were the most amazing creations of nature.
While some
people might dispute certain items on the list, there is no
doubt that all of them are astounding examples of ecological
wonders. Other organizations have made up lists of the marvels
of Mother Nature, but here we present for you the original list
put together by CNN. 
Comments