The Seven Wonders of the World (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a widely-known list of seven remarkable constructions of classical antiquity. The earliest known version of the list was compiled in the 2nd century BCE by Antipater of Sidon; it appears to be based on the guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers.

Ancient wonders

Listed in order of their construction, the seven wonders are—

• the Great Pyramid of Giza
• the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• the Statue of Zeus at Olympia
• the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
• the Colossus of Rhodes
• the Lighthouse of Alexandria

Of these, the only one which has survived to the present day is the oldest—the Great Pyramid at Giza. The Great Pyramid was built by the ancient Egyptians, the Hanging Gardens by the Babylonians, and the Maussollos Mausoleum by the Persians; the others were built by the ancient Greeks.

More recent lists

In the tradition of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, many other lists of wonders have been proposed, including both human feats of engineering and wonders of nature. However, there is no general consensus in any particular list.

Modern wonders

The following list of the top seven existing wonders was compiled by Hillman Wonders:

• Great Pyramid of Giza
• Great Wall of China
• Taj Mahal
• Serengeti Migration
• Galapagos
• Grand Canyon
• Machu Picchu

The American Society of Civil Engineers compiled another list of wonders of the modern world:

• Channel Tunnel
• CN Tower
• Empire State Building
• Golden Gate Bridge
• Itaipu Dam
• Netherlands' Tidal Defences
• Panama Canal

Natural wonders

Similar to the other lists of wonders, there is no consensus on a list of seven natural wonders of the world. One of the lists was compiled by CNN ^[1]:

• Grand Canyon
• Great Barrier Reef
• Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
• Mount Everest
• Northern Lights
• Paricutín Volcano
• Victoria Falls

Underwater wonders

This list of underwater wonders is of unknown origin but has been repeated sufficiently often to acquire a degree of notability:^{[2] [3]}

• Palau
• Belize Barrier Reef
• Great Barrier Reef
• Deep-Sea Vents
• Galapagos Islands
• Lake Baikal
• Northern Red Sea

New 7 Wonders

According to the New 7 Wonders Foundation, the top seven wonders are:

1. Great Wall of China
2. Potala Palace
3. Taj Mahal
4. Colosseum
5. Pyramids of Chichen Itza
6. Statues of Easter Island
7. Tower of Pisa

See also

• Eighth Wonder of the World

External links and references

• The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World — an in-depth look from a professor of civil engineering at the University of South Florida
• The World's Top 100 Wonders - a list of architectural, engineering and natural wonders by Howard Hillman, a renowned travel writer.
• WonderClub.com - a "list of lists", with information about most wonders.
• Seven Wonders of the Modern World - a list of modern wonders compiled by the American Society of Civil Engineers
• Seven Wonders of Chicago - A list compiled by the Chicago Tribune and voted on by residents of the Chicagoland area.

^  [4]^  Underwater Wonders of the World ^ 2nd list of Underwater Wonder

Further reading

• Cox, Reg, and Neil Morris, "The Seven Wonders of the Modern World". Chelsea House Publications: Library. October, 2000. ISBN 079106048
• Cox, Reg, Neil Morris, and James Field, "The Seven Wonders of the Medieval World". Chelsea House Publications: Library. October, 2000. ISBN 0791060470
• 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 0385490623
• Morris, Neil, "The Seven Wonders of the Natural World". Chrysalis Books. December 30, 2002. ISBN 184138495Xaf:Sewe Wonders van die Wêreld