The Seven Natural Wonders of the World
Canyons, reefs, falls, a volcano, a harbor, and the roof of the world.
The classic list of natural wonders, popularized by CNN in 1997, picks seven places shaped by nature alone: the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, Victoria Falls, Mount Everest, the harbor of Rio de Janeiro, the Parícutin volcano, and the aurora, which belongs to the sky rather than any one place.
| # | Place | Where | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 ParícutinThe volcano that rose from a Mexican cornfield in 1943 and erupted for nine years |
Michoacán, Mexico | Erupted 1943–1952 |
| 2 |
 Grand CanyonThe Colorado River's mile-deep masterpiece carved through northern Arizona |
Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States | |
| 3 |
 Great Barrier ReefThe largest living structure on Earth, a 2,300-kilometre coral system off Australia |
Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Australia | |
| 4 |
 Guanabara Bay (Harbor of Rio de Janeiro)The granite-ringed bay that gave Rio de Janeiro its name and its setting |
Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil | |
| 5 |
 Mount EverestEarth's highest mountain, the crown of the Himalaya on the Nepal-Tibet border |
Mahalangur Himal, Nepal / Tibet | |
| 6 |
 Victoria FallsThe largest sheet of falling water on Earth, where the Zambezi plunges into a chasm |
Victoria Falls, Zambezi River, Zambia / Zimbabwe |
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