The Seven Natural Wonders of the World

Aurora Borealis. The Grand Canyon. The Great Barrier Reef. The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro. Mount Everest. Parícutin. Victoria Falls. These are the Seven Natural Wonders of the World: 

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, have captivated people for millennia. But what causes this magical light show? Northern Lights Centre explains, “The northern lights are the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere. Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. The most common auroral colour, a pale yellowish-green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth. Rare, all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, at heights of up to 200 miles. Nitrogen produces blue or purplish-red aurora.” The northern lights can be seen in Finland, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and even Scotland. 

The Grand Canyon is a mile-deep gorge in northern Arizona. “Scientists estimate the canyon may have formed 5 to 6 million years ago when the Colorado River began to cut a channel through layers of rock,” explains History. “The oldest known rocks in the canyon, called the Vishnu Basement Rocks, can be found near the bottom of the Inner Gorge. The Vishnu rocks formed about 1.7 billion years ago when magma hardened and joined this region - once a volcanic ocean chain - to the North American continent.” 

The Great Barrier Reef, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the world’s largest coral reef with over 900 islands, roughly 3,000 separate reefs and a diverse ecosystem. “My travels to Australia took me to Cairns, which is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef,” ROL Cruise team member Gemma told us. “I would highly recommend a snorkelling trip and a helicopter tour over the Barrier Reef which was the highlight of my holiday. The turquoise colours of the sea against the reef look amazing and make for some wonderful memories.” 

The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, which is also known as Guanabara Bay, is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World as it is the largest bay in the world due to its volume of water. Surrounded by granite monoliths, like Sugar Loaf Mountain, the harbour is the gateway to Christ the Redeemer, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The city and the harbour are well known for their scenic beauty and there are a number of spectacular beaches here including the famous Copacabana and Ipanema. 

Situated within the Himalayan mountain range on the border of Nepal and China, Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. According to Britannica, “Everest is composed of multiple layers of rock folded back on themselves. Rock on the lower elevations of the mountain consists of metamorphic schists and gneisses, topped by igneous granites. Higher up are sedimentary rocks of marine origins. Notable is the Yellow Band, a limestone formation that is visible just below the summit pyramid.” 

Located in Mexico, Parícutin is a cinder cone volcano.  “Also referred to as Volcán de Parícutin, Parícutin is one of the youngest volcanoes on the planet,” says World Atlas. “The Parícutin volcano gained widespread attention for its sudden appearance and mild eruptions in 1943 from a cornfield that was owned by a native farmer named Dionisio Pulido. Since then, the Parícutin volcano has attracted several researchers for documenting the full life cycle of a volcano and has also become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico.” 

Trailing along the borders of Zambia and Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls “presents a spectacular sight of awe-inspiring beauty and grandeur on the Zambezi River. It was described by the Kololo tribe living in the area in the 1899s as ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ - ‘The Smoke that Thunders.’ In more modern terms, Victoria Falls is known as the greatest curtain of falling water in the world.” The best way to see Victoria Falls is from above on a helicopter tour.