New Open World Corporation has done it again. First in 2007, the Swiss operation ran a worldwide campaign to name the New Seven Wonders of the World. With over 100 million votes cast online, the initiative was a modest success, to say the least.
Now, amid controversy over the authenticity and validity of the candidates, with some nationalist pride at stake, comes the New Seven Wonders of Nature competition. Set for 2011, the list is now down to 28 finalists. Some, in our humble opinion, make absolute sense while others, seem more suspect. World class wonders like Lake Baikal – home to over 20% of the surface fresh water on the planet – Niagara Falls, Mount Everest, Arctic, Serengeti and Sahara Desert did not even make the cut. Curious.
Whatever the case, let the debate begin!
The Amazon contains 5,500,000 km² of tropical rainforest, over half of the planet’s total, and runs the entire width of South America. It should be on the list. Otherwise, Sting would have held another benefit concert. Nobody wants that. On another note, man those capybaras are cute!
World’s highest waterfall? Cool. Venezuela, you’re in! Who can find fault with the inclusion of Angel Falls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in beautiful Canaima National Park. Nobody who wants Hugo Chavez to pipe down, that’s who.
Bay of Fundy
OK, so the Bay of Fundy has a massive tidal range and spans some of the most beautiful scenery in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. But is this the best Canada can do?
We love the Brothers Grimm allure of the mystical Black Forest and think the towns of Baden-Baden, Calw and Freiburg are pretty keen. It deserves a place at the table for cultural significance but is it one of the best natural world wonders?
Confession. We have no idea what the Bu Tinah Shoals are or how they made the cut. The United Arab Emirates wants this one badly but come on, the best photo we could find was of nearby Hormoz Island in the Persian Gulf.
We don’t like to argue with Irish people so we’re going to let this one go. No but seriously, the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare kick ass.
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Dead Sea
Jordan, Israel and Palestine will share the honors if the Dead Sea makes the top seven. When you consider the Biblical history here and potential political benefit, a vote for the saline lake is a smart move.
Here’s a great reason to lobby for El Yunque to make the ultimate list and raise Puerto Rico’s profile. Better reggaeton videos. Who wouldn’t want to make it rain and shake their booty in front of a Wonder of Nature?
The endemic wildlife of the Galapagos is one of the most precious resources on the planet. Every vote for the UNESCO World Heritage Site helps protect a bunch of Swiss dudes from the ghost of Charles Darwin.
We don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade but Mexico’s Copper Canyon, in the state of Chihuahua, is seven times the size of the Grand Canyon and in some parts, deeper. Inclusion on the list could have been helpful for the indigenous Tarahumara people, severely under strain because of opium and marijuana producers in the area and ultimately, Mexico’s above-the-law drug cartels. Read the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall for more info. But we digress. Go Grand Canyon!
Along with the Amazon Rainforest, the biggest no-brainer on the list. If we lose either or both, we’re in deep turtle wax.
A bit of a surprise here, because Vietnam always seems to get the shaft, so nice to see Halong Bay make the cut. The UNESCO World Heritage Site has thousands of limestone karst formations, is rife with endemic fauna and flora and traces human settlement back 20,000 years. That’s impressive.
More waterfalls? OK Iguazu, what have you got? Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls and Kaieteur Falls in Guyana – the best in the world in our opinion – did not even make the list. So you better bring it, Brazil and Argentina. So Eleanor Roosevelt did remark “Poor Niagara!” when she first saw Iguazu Falls. Nice. And while peak flow surface area is less than Victoria’s, Iguazu has the most annual flow on average. But who cares? We think Zambia and Zimbabwe got the shaft. Maybe if they had built better observation platforms at Victoria, they would have made the finals.
While photos of Jeita Grotto are difficult to come by – security officials outside the Lebanese landmark enforce a strict no camera policy – we like the mythical secrecy of the place. Cool fact: you can only visit the prehistoric caves by boat since the underground river provides millions of residents in nearby Beirut with tap water.
Photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
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