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.
Contents
[hide]
1 Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
2 Wonders of the Medieval World
3 Wonders of the modern world
3.1 American Society of Civil Engineers
3.2 New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World
3.3 USA Today's New Seven Wonders
3.4 Seven Natural Wonders of the World
3.4.1 Seven wonders of the underwater world
3.5 Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
3.6 Travel wonders of the world
3.6.1 Man-made travel wonders
3.6.2 Natural travel wonders
4 See also
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
//
[edit] 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
The Great Barrier Reef
The London sewerage system's original Abbey Mills pumping station
Machu Picchu
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 Greek category was not "Wonders" but "theamata", which translates closer to "must-sees". The list that we know today was co
mpiled 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.[Edit] 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]
[edit] 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.
[edit] American Society of Civil Engineers
The American Society of Civil Engineers compiled a list of wonders of the moder
n 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 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
[edit] 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
Tunnel December 1, 1987 May 6, 1994
Strait of Dover, between the United Kingdom and France
CN Tower February 6, 1973 June 26, 1976
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
[edit] 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
ChinaPetra 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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 wonder
s are:
SS Great Eastern
Bell Rock Lighthouse
Brooklyn Bridge
London sewerage system
First Transcontinental Railroad
Panama Canal
Hoover Dam
[edit] 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:
[edit] Man-made travel wonders
Giza pyramid complex
Great Wall of China
Taj Mahal
Machu Picchu
Bali
Angkor Wat
Forbidden City
Bagan Temples & Pagodas
Karnak Temple
Teotihuacán
[edit] Natural travel wonders
Serengeti Migration
Galápagos Islands
Grand Canyon
Iguazu Falls
Amazon Rainforest
Ngorongoro Crater
Great Barrier Reef
Victoria Falls
Bora Bora
Cappadocia
[edit] See also
Eighth Wonder of the World
World Heritage List - a list of over 800 sites deemed by UNESCO to be of "outstanding universal value"
National lists of Seven Wonders
Seven Wonders of Canada
Seven Wonders of Poland
Seven Wonders of Portugal
Seven Wonders of Ukraine
Seven Wonders of Wales
Seven Wonders of Fore (Fore Abbey, Ireland)
Seven Blunders of the World — a list by Mahatma Gandhi
[edit] References
^ Anon. (1993)The Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia First Edition Oxford:Oxford University
^ a b I H Evans (reviser), Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Centenary edition Fourth impression (corrected); London: Cassell, 1975), page 1163
^ a b Hereward Carrington (1880-1958), "The Seven Wonders of the World: ancient, medieval and modern", reprinted in the Carington Collection (2003) ISBN 0-7661-4378-3, page 14.
^ Edward Latham. A Dictionary of Names, Nicknames and Surnames, of Persons, Places and Things (1904), page 280.
^ Francis Trevelyan Miller, Woodrow Wilson, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt. America, the Land We Love (1915), page 201.
^ Palpa, as You Like it, page 67)
^ The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Crusades (2001, page 153))
^ The Rough Guide To England (1994, page 596))
^ The Catholic Encyclopedia, v.16 (1913), page 74
^ American Society of Civil Engineers Seven Wonders
^ New Seven Wonders
^ Finalist Page
^ Egypt Angered at New Wonders Idea
^ Reuters via ABC News Australia "Opera House snubbed as new Wonders unveiled" 7 July 2007
^ New Seven Wonders panel
^ The world's 8th wonder: Readers pick the Grand Canyon
^ CNN Natural Wonders
^ Underwater Wonders of the World
^ 2nd list of Underwater Wonder
^ Hillman, Howard. "World's top 10 man-made travel wonders". Hillman Quality Publications. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
^ Hillman, Howard. "World's top 10 natural travel wonders". Hillman Quality Publications. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
[edit] 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
[edit] External links
SOURCE.WonderClub.com
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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] 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 wonder
s are:SS Great Eastern
Bell Rock Lighthouse
Brooklyn Bridge
London sewerage system
First Transcontinental Railroad
Panama Canal
Hoover Dam
[edit] 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:
[edit] Man-made travel wonders
Giza pyramid complex
Great Wall of China
Taj Mahal
Machu Picchu
Bali
Angkor Wat
Forbidden City
Bagan Temples & Pagodas
Karnak Temple
Teotihuacán
[edit] Natural travel wonders
Serengeti Migration
Galápagos Islands
Grand Canyon
Iguazu Falls
Amazon Rainforest
Ngorongoro Crater
Great Barrier Reef
Victoria Falls
Bora Bora
Cappadocia
[edit] See also
Eighth Wonder of the World
World Heritage List - a list of over 800 sites deemed by UNESCO to be of "outstanding universal value"
National lists of Seven Wonders
Seven Wonders of Canada
Seven Wonders of Poland
Seven Wonders of Portugal
Seven Wonders of Ukraine
Seven Wonders of Wales
Seven Wonders of Fore (Fore Abbey, Ireland)
Seven Blunders of the World — a list by Mahatma Gandhi
[edit] References
^ Anon. (1993)The Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia First Edition Oxford:Oxford University
^ a b I H Evans (reviser), Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Centenary edition Fourth impression (corrected); London: Cassell, 1975), page 1163
^ a b Hereward Carrington (1880-1958), "The Seven Wonders of the World: ancient, medieval and modern", reprinted in the Carington Collection (2003) ISBN 0-7661-4378-3, page 14.
^ Edward Latham. A Dictionary of Names, Nicknames and Surnames, of Persons, Places and Things (1904), page 280.
^ Francis Trevelyan Miller, Woodrow Wilson, William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt. America, the Land We Love (1915), page 201.
^ Palpa, as You Like it, page 67)
^ The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Crusades (2001, page 153))
^ The Rough Guide To England (1994, page 596))
^ The Catholic Encyclopedia, v.16 (1913), page 74
^ American Society of Civil Engineers Seven Wonders
^ New Seven Wonders
^ Finalist Page
^ Egypt Angered at New Wonders Idea
^ Reuters via ABC News Australia "Opera House snubbed as new Wonders unveiled" 7 July 2007
^ New Seven Wonders panel
^ The world's 8th wonder: Readers pick the Grand Canyon
^ CNN Natural Wonders
^ Underwater Wonders of the World
^ 2nd list of Underwater Wonder
^ Hillman, Howard. "World's top 10 man-made travel wonders". Hillman Quality Publications. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
^ Hillman, Howard. "World's top 10 natural travel wonders". Hillman Quality Publications. Retrieved on 2007-07-07.
[edit] 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
[edit] External links
SOURCE.WonderClub.com
