Congratulations World Class Winners: New 7 Wonders of Nature

November 14th, 2011 Permalink

On 11/11/11, the provisional winners on the New 7 Wonders of Nature were announced: Amazon, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerto Princesa Underground River, and Table Mountain. Voting started in 2007 and ended in 2011 with over 100 million votes from around the world. The announcement came along with: It is possible that there will be changes between the above provisional winners and the eventual finally confirmed winners. The voting calculation is now being checked, validated and independently verified, and the confirmed winners will be announced starting early 2012 during the Official Inauguration ceremonies.The worldwide votes were led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the New7Wonders Foundation which is a Swiss-based, government-controlled foundation. We love nature, all nature, and want it preserved and kept clean without heavy evidence of humans passing through by leaving trash and other traces on trails. Sadly the Grand Canyon did not make the final cut. Neither did the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos Islands, the Black Forest, or Angel Falls which were some of our favorites and seemed to be doing well according to voting trends! Just the same, congratulations to the world class winners and new 7 wonders of nature. Here they are as described by the New7Wonders. [29 Photos]

Along Halong Bay

Halong Bay is located in Quáng Ninh province, Vietnam. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. The bay has a 120 kilometre long coastline and is approximately 1,553 square kilometres in size with 1969 islets. Photo #1 by Nikkodem

Halong bay, Vietnam is famous for its thousands of islands and many caves

Halong bay, Vietnam, is famous for its thousands of islands and many caves. But these monolithic islands also feature grottoes, lakes and secluded beaches. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves, other support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks. Photo #2 by Arianos



Titov Island overlooking Vietnam Ha Long Bay New7Wonders of Nature

Another specific feature of Halong Bay is the abundance of lakes inside the limestone islands, for example, Dau Be island has six enclosed lakes. All these island lakes occupy drowned dolines within fengcong karst. Photo #3 by Alex Stoen

Panorama of Iguazu Waterfalls

Panorama of Iguazu Waterfalls. Iguazu Falls, in Iguazu River, are one of the world’s largest waterfalls. They extend over 2,700 m (nearly 2 miles) in a semi-circular shape. Photo #4 by Martin St-Amant

Iguaçu

Of the 275 falls that collectively make up Iguassu Falls, “Devil’s Throat” is the tallest at 80 m in height. Photo #5 by Benjamin Dumas

Aerial view of Iguazu falls

Aerial view of Iguazu falls. Iguazu Falls are on the border between the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones, and are surrounded by two National Parks (BR/ARG). Both are subtropical rainforests that are host to hundreds of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna. Photo #6 by Claudio Elias

Red-and-Green Macaws DO grow on trees in the Amazon

Red-and-Green Macaws DO grow on trees in the Amazon – which is located in these countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela. The Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia, the Amazon jungle or the Amazon Basin, encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), though the forest itself occupies some 5.5 million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres), located within nine nations. Photo #7 by Billtacular

.San Rafael Falls, Quijos River, Amazon, Ecuador

The San Rafael Falls and Quijos River are located at the foot of the highly active Reventador Volcano which rises out of the Amazon jungle east of the Andes. Based on archaeological evidence, it is believed that humans first inhabited this Amazon paradise at least 11,200 years ago. The Amazon represents over half of the planet’s remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. Photo #8 by Imagesunion

Brazilian Amazon

Brazilian Amazon. The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total flow greater than the top ten rivers worldwide combined. It accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total world river flow and has the biggest drainage basin on the planet. Not a single bridge crosses the Amazon. Photo #9 by gortour

Boat to the underground river

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. navigable underground river. Photo #10 by by aSIMULAtor

Aerial view of Coron, Palawan

Aerial view of Palawan paradise. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. It includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers. The lower portion of the river is subject to tidal influences. Photo #11 by Patrick Kranzlmüller

exiting the underground river

Exiting the underground river. The underground river is reputed to be the world’s longest. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water’s edge. Monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels find their niche on the beach near the cave. Photo #12 by aSIMULAtor

A fisherman wades into the waters of Hyeopjae Beach on Jeju, S. Korea

Jejudo is a volcanic island, 130 km from the southern coast of Korea. A fisherman wades into the waters of Hyeopjae Beach on Jeju, S. Korea. As Korea’s most southern region, the weather on Jejudo Island is warmer than the mainland even during the cold winter months. Photo #13 by Brian Miller

Jeju Island Halla Mountain

Jeju Island Halla Mountain. The Sangumburi Crater is the crater of an extinct volcano. Although it did not spew much lava, the remaining crater is 328 feet (100 meters) deep and an average of 1,148 feet (350 meters) across. Over 400 species of plants and animals live inside of it. This is the only crater lake in South Korea. The largest island and smallest province in Korea, the island has a surface area of 1,846 sqkm. Photo #14 by worldstravelr

Path + Horses Jeju Island

A central feature of Jeju is Hallasan, the tallest mountain in South Korea and a dormant volcano, which rises 1,950 m above sea level. 360 satellite volcanoes are around the main volcano. Photo #15 by David (Randomwire)

Komodo Dragon

Indonesia’s Komodo National Park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller ones, for a total area of 1,817 square kilometers (603 square kilometers of it land). Photo #16 by Jon Chia

Northern tip of Komodo Island, Indonesia

Aerial view: Northern tip of Komodo Island, Indonesia. The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon. Photo #17 by Jon Hanson

Komodo Dragon - Komodo, Indonesia grown up male Komodo Dragon, 3 meter long and about 120 kg in weight

Besides Komodo Dragons, the national park has lots of lizards: 9 skink species, geckos, limbless lizards, and monitor lizards. Later, it was also dedicated to protecting other species, including marine animals. The islands of the national park are of volcanic origin. Photo #18 by whl.travel

Satellite image of Table Mountain, Cape peninsula, Table Bay

Since Table Mountain was previously not covered on Love These Pics, we’ll do several now. Cape Town, South Africa, Perspective View, Landsat Image over SRTM Elevation. Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, appear in the foreground of this perspective view generated from a Landsat satellite image and elevation data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The city center is located at Table Bay (at the lower left), adjacent to Table Mountain, a 1,086-meter (3,563-foot) tall sandstone and granite natural landmark. The large bay facing right (South) is False Bay. The perspective is computer generated, combining a photograph with elevation data collected using radar. This Landsat and SRTM perspective view uses a 2-times vertical exaggeration to enhance topographic expression. The back edges of the data sets form a false horizon and a false sky was added. Colors of the scene were enhanced by image processing but are the natural color band combination from the Landsat satellite. Photo #19 by NASA

Table Mountain seen from Cape Town harbour's jetty

Table Mountain seen from Cape Town harbour’s jetty. 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.” Photo #20 by Julien Carnot

Table Mountain from Cape Town, South Africa

Table Mountain from Cape Town, South Africa. The flat-topped mountain has withstood six million years of erosion and hosts the richest, yet smallest floral kingdom on earth with over 1,470 floral species. Photo #21 by Coda.coza

Cablecar, Table Mountain

This cablecar takes you all the way up to Table Mountain. The cable car was first opened in 1929 and today conveys some 600,000 people to the summit annually. Photo #22 by Tjeerd Wiersma

View of Table Mountain from Bloubergstrand

View of Table Mountain from Bloubergstrand. The mountain boasts numerous rare and endangered species. Photo #23 by Danie van der Merwe

Panorama Image of Cape Town taken from Table Mountain

Panorama Image of Cape Town taken from Table Mountain. Photo #24 by Oberhbe

Lion's Head as seen from Table Mountain cable car

Lion’s Head as seen from Table Mountain cable car. Photo #25 by Entropy1963

Big Bay view of Table Mountain

Big Bay view of Table Mountain. Photo #26 by Ragesoss

Cape Town, Table Mountain, Table Cloth

Table Mountain National Park, Western Cape, South Africa. Taken near the start of the chairlift. The Camera is pointed to the East-South East. From the South East (False Bay/Vaalsbai), a warm humid wind was blowing over the top of the mountain, producing a thin layer of cloud known as the tablecloth. The cloud in appearance was flowing over the mountain and descending down the slopes facing the camera and evaporating. This is shown in the photo insofar as a still photograph can do it justice. Photo #27 by KodachromeFan

Table Mountain from slopes of Lion's Head

Table Mountain from slopes of Lion’s Head. Photo #28 by Hilton Teper

A view of Table Mountain from Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens, near Cape Town

A view of Table Mountain from Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens, near Cape Town. The mountain is the most recognized site in Cape Town, the gateway to Africa, owing to its unique flat-topped peaks which reach 1,086 m above sea level. Photo #29 by Salim Fadhley



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