The Seven Natural World Wonders

The Seven Natural World Wonders

There are many different versions of the list of the seven natural world wonders. The list contains The Grand Canyon, the Northern Lights, Victoria Falls, Mount Everest, Paricutin Volcano, The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, and The Great Barrier Reef. What exactly makes them so wonderful?

The Grand Canyon is a very colorful, steep sided gorge, carved by the Colorado River, in the U.S. state of Arizona. To some, the Grand Canyon is just a magnificent hole in the ground. (Arizona’s Grand Canyon lives up to its name) To others, it’s miles and miles of history dating back 2 million years and contains rocks that dates back 1.7 billion years. (The Geology of the Grand Canyon)

No one knows the real truth about how the canyon was formed. All they have are some educated guesses. The chances are that a number of processes combined to create the beautiful canyon we see today. Erosion has had a huge impact on its creation, mostly water and wind. (Geology of GC)

The Northern Lights (often referred to as the Aurora Borealis) is a bright glow observed in the night sky, usually in the polar zone. (Northern Lights) It’s a light phenomenon often seen in the northern regions. The lights have been around since Earth formed an atmosphere; the dinosaurs saw it, early humans saw it and our descendants will see it. (Northern Lights)

“No pencil can draw it, no colors can paint it, and no words can describe it in all its magnificence” wrote Payer, a famous observer of the Northern Lights.

The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon caused by electrically charged solar particles passing into Earth’s atmosphere. (Northern Lights)

Victoria Falls is one of Africa’s major tourist attractions. Located between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The falls are just over 1 mile wide and 355 feet high. Victoria Falls is among the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. (Victoria Falls)

Victoria Falls attracts many extreme sport lovers. Bungee jumping off the Zambezi Bridge, white water rafting and body boarding are just a few options available. (Victoria Falls thunder with a awesome power) Less adventurous visitors would enjoy walking through the National Park. (Vic Falls thunder)

Mount Everest is part of the Himalaya mountain range along the border of Nepal and Tibet. (The Mighty Mount Everest crowns the Himalayas) Roughly 60 million years ago, India began to move rapidly northward, eventually colliding with Asia. The push crushed the land on the continental shores into what is now the highest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas. (Mighty Mount Everest)

Paricutin Volcano is located in the Mexican state of Michoacan, close to a lava-covered village of the same name. Much of the volcano’s growth occurred during its first year, while it was still in the explosive pyroclastic phase. (Paricutin) The volcano had grown 336 meters tall at the end of this phase. (Paricutin)

Volcanism is a common part of the Mexican landscape. Paricutin is merely the youngest of more than 1,400 volcanic belts. (Paricutin) Paricutin became a natural world wonder, mainly for the fact that it was witnessed from its very beginning. All the other natural world wonders were here before we ever were.

The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro is located on the east coast of Brazil. It is in Guanabara Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Early Portuguese explorers discovered the harbor in 1502 in the month of January. (Rio de Janeiro) They named it Rio de Janeiro, which means �River of January’ in honor of the month it was discovered. (Rio de Janeiro)

Rio is a natural world wonder because there are so many ways to look at the harbor and see so many different things. Some of the first explorers thought it looked like the mouth of some massive river. The giant mountains by it help deceive your eyes to make it seem like a lake. When you first come into view of the harbor you see such strange shapes, and forms that everything looks like something else. (Why is the harbor of Rio de Janeiro a natural wonder.)

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s longest spanning natural wonder and the most fragile. (2 Great Barrier Reef teems with life off Australian coast) The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northern Australia. This reef can be seen from outer space and is sometimes referred to as the single largest organism in the world. (The Great Barrier Reef)

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