how were the seven wonders of the natural world decided?

Question

i have an essay on the seven wonders of the natural world and i was wondering how they decided to choose those seven natural features to be part of the list..someone please help..thanks=]

Answer 1

This is an interesting question. "They" might be one or more people at CNN, the news company. CNN published such a list in 1997.
http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/9711/natural.wonders/

While the Natural Wonders on the CNN list are all wonderful, and I would like to see them all, it seems to be that the "deciders" decided to make sure there was at least one from each continent plus Central America--and that there was one each to represent some different categories--and perhaps, that they were good tourist destinations too:

Volcano: Paricutin, Mexico (there are lots of other great volcanoes too!)
Canyon: Grand Canyon
Waterfall: Victoria (a fabulous waterfall, but not the highest or widest)
atmosphere: Northern Lights
ocean: Great Barrier Reef (no argument)
Mountain: Mt. Everest (tallest, no argument)
Harbor (???? why?), Harbor at Rio. Very cool, -but I'm not sure that I would put a harbor on my top 7 list of natural wonders.

Why no great River???--like the Amazon for instance? Don't know.
Why no great desert like the Sahara?
Why no great Rainforest?
Why no great glacier?
Why no big geothermal area-like Yellowstone?

Also: Cranfield, Ingrid,"100 Greatest Natural Wonders" Grolier Educational Publishers 1997.I don't know what her top seven were.

Answer 2

Seven Natural Wonders is a project created with the aim of protecting and promoting the original 7 natural wonders of the world. The list which is commonly accepted as the original list of seven wonders of the natural world was compiled by CNN in 1997.

Seven Wonders of the Natural World:
Aurora Borealis
Grand Canyon
Harbour of Rio de Janiero
Mount Everest
Paricutin Volcano
Victoria Falls
Great Barrier Reef