The Seven Wonders of the World

World's new seven wonders of nature unveiled

THE Amazon rainforest, Vietnam's Halong Bay and Argentina's Iguazu Falls have been named among the world's new seven wonders of nature, according to organisers of a global poll. The other four crowned the world's natural wonders are South Korea's Jeju Island, Indonesia's Komodo, the Philippines' Puerto Princesa Underground River and South Africa's Table Mountain, the New7Wonders foundation said today, citing provisional results. Final results will be announced early next year, said the Swiss foundation, warning however that there may yet be changes between the provisional winners and the final list. Sites which have failed to make the cut include Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, the Dead Sea and the US Grand Canyon. The poll organised by Swiss foundation New7Wonders has attracted great interest, mobilising celebrities including Argentinian football star Lionel Messi calling on fans to pick his home country's Iguazu Falls.

The results come after a long consultation process lasting from December 2007 to July 2009, when world citizens were asked to put forward sites which they deemed were natural wonders. More than a million votes were cast to trim the list of more than 440 contenders in over 220 countries down to a shortlist of 77. The group was then further cut to the 28 finalists by a panel of experts. Anyone in the world was then able to vote for the final seven via telephone, text messages or Internet social networks. Founded in 2001 by filmmaker Bernard Weber in Zurich, the foundation New7Wonders is based on the same principle on which the seven ancient wonders of the world were established. That list of seven wonders was attributed to Philon of Byzantium in ancient Greece. New7Wonders said its aim is to create a global memory by garnering participation worldwide. But even as the natural wonders poll came to a close, the New7Wonders foundation has set its eyes on a new survey -- the top seven cities of the world. Participating cities will be announced on January 1, 2012.

The Seven Wonders of the World

The Amazon Rainforest is located within nine countries, representing over half of the planet's remaining rainforests. The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by volume, and accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total world river flow. Not a single bridge crosses the Amazon. Picture: Supplied

The Seven Wonders of the World Iguazu Falls are one of the world's largest waterfalls. They magnificently extend in a semi-circular shape on the border between the Brazilian state of Paran and the Argentine province of Misiones. The subtropical rainforests are host to hundreds of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna. Picture: Supplied

Table Mountain is a South African icon and the only natural site on the planet to have a constellation of stars named after it - Mensa, meaning "the table". The flat-topped mountain has withstood six million years of erosion and hosts the richest, yet smallest floral kingdom on earth. Picture: Thinkstock

The Seven Wonders of the World Jeju Island is a volcanic island off the coast of South Korea. The main volcano, Hallasan, rises 1,950m above sea level and is surrounded by 360 satellite volcanoes. Picture: Wai chung Tang

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River in the Phillipines is 8.2km long and winds its way through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. The limestone cave has spectacular large chambers and stalactite and stalamite formations. Picture: penmanila (Flickr)

The Seven Wonders of the World Thousands of limestone karsts and isles can be found in Halong Bay, Vietnam. Many of the islands support floating villages of fishermen who farm the 200 species of fish and 450 mollusks found in surrounding waters. Picture: Julien Grondin, Thinkstock

Komodo National Park in Indonesia is a group of islands, including Komodo Island, that collectively cover 603 square kilometres. Obtaining national park status in 1980 to protect the iconic Komodo dragon, the park is now also a haven rich in marine life. Picture: Nicola Vernizzi, Thinkstock

The Seven Wonders of the World The New7Wonders of Nature

AMAZON

HALONG BAY

IGUAZU FALLS

JEJU ISLAND KOMODO

PUERTO PRINCESA TABLE UNDERGROUNDMOUNTAIN RIVER

The above are the New7Wonders of Nature, based on the first count of vote results announced at the N7W headquarters in Zurich on 11/11/11. Where a provisional status is shown, this means the first step of the verification process is still underway. The process of confirming the provisional New7Wonders of Nature results includes the following steps: 1. The validation of the national phone and SMS voting results, after which preliminary CONFIRMED status is granted to the relevant New7Wonder of Nature. 2. The verification of the total worldwide calculation, to be completed once all national phone and SMS voting results are validated, expected during the first quarter of 2012. 3. The preparation and implementation of the Official Inauguration events for each New7Wonder of Nature to be confirmed. We will update and announce the individual status as each one of the New7Wonders of Nature is confirmed. We will do this on an ongoing basis once the validation, verification and preparation process is complete for each one and overall. At that point each confirmed New7Wonder of Nature will host an Official Inauguration at the location and in the capital city, during which the Official New7Wonders of Nature Plaque will be ceremonially presented as final confirmation of the status as one of the Official New7Wonders of Nature as voted by the people of the world. Total voting set a new world record for N7W, many hundreds of millions of votes and a multiple of the votes achieved in our first campaign to elect the man-made New 7 Wonders of the World declared in 2007. We will update on the exact number of votes once the confirmation process is fully completed.