New 7 Wonders of Nature

Last year, I was able to partake on the successful selection of the New 7 Wonders of the World by voting online. Two of my voted candidates, the Roman Colosseum and the Machu Picchu, were included in the top 7:

The Pyramid at Chichén Itzá (before 800 A.D.) Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico MEXICO
Christ Redeemer (1931) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil BRAZIL
The Roman Colosseum (70 - 82 A.D.) Rome, Italy ITALY
The Great Wall of China (220 B.C and 1368 - 1644 A.D.) China CHINA
Machu Picchu (1460-1470), Peru PERU
Petra (9 B.C. - 40 A.D.), Jordan JORDAN
The Taj Mahal (1630 A.D.) Agra, India

After the New 7 Wonders of the World, comes the New7Wonders Foundation's second campaign, the New 7 Wonders of Nature. There are already more than 200 nominees and the nomination continues until December 31, 2008. But voting for your favorite nominee is on. I have already casted my votes. Of course I have voted for the Chocolate Hills in Bohol, Philippines, Tubbataha Reef in Palawan, Philippines and the Mayon Volcano in Bicol, Philippines.

The shortlisted top 21 candidates which will be considered by the N7W Panel of Experts will move forward to the next stage of voting. These 21 candidates will be announced in January 2009 and voting for the final New 7 Wonders of Nature will continue throughout 2009-2010. The declaration of the New 7 Wonders of Nature will be in summer of 2010. The last time I've checked, Tubbataha Reef ranks 18 while the Chocolate Hills and the Mayon Volcano ranks 17 and 54 respectively. So these natural wonders from the Philippines has a big chance to make it to the top 21, and hopefully be included in the New 7 Wonders of the World.

In choosing the candidates to vote, I tried not to be deceived by the photos. I consider those that create a real wonder. Like the chocolate hills, I find them distinct and cute, the perfect cone of the Mayon Volcano are just amazing, and the underwater wonder of the Tubbataha Reef is enchanting. Though I've never been to those places which I voted, I read some infos about them. I've also noticed that aside from the top three wonders of nature from the Philippines, most of my preferred candidates are waterfalls and oasis. :D

Here are some information about the three wonders of nature in the Philippines:

Chocolate Hills

The Chocolate Hills are probably Bohol's most famous tourist attraction. They look like giant mole hills, or as some say, women's breasts, and remind us of the hills in a small child's drawing. Most people who first see pictures of this landscape can hardly believe that these hills are not a man-made artifact. However, this idea is quickly abandoned, as the effort would surely surpass the construction of the pyramids in Egypts. The chocolate hills consist of are no less than 1268 hills (some claim this to be the exact number). They are very uniform in shape and mostly between 30 and 50 metres high. They are covered with grass, which, at the end of the dry season, turns chocolate brown. From this color, the hills derive their name. At other times, the hills are green, and the association may be a bit difficult to make.
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Mayon Volcano

Beautifully symmetrical Mayon volcano, which rises to 2462 m above the Albay Gulf, is the Philippines' most active volcano. The structurally simple volcano has steep upper slopes averaging 35-40 degrees that are capped by a small summit crater.

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Tubbataha Reef

Tubbataha is a reef ecosystem made up of two atolls located in the middle of the Sulu Sea. It is a sanctuary for marine life. The reefs lie on the Cagayan Ridge, a line of extinct underwater volcanoes which starts from the north at the Sultana Shoal and ends in the south at the San Miguel Islands. It is located 92 nautical miles southeast of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan and 80 nautical miles southwest of Cagayancillo, the municipality that exercises political jurisdiction over it. It was proclaimed as a National Marine Park on August 11, 1988 and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage in 1993, in recognition of its outstanding universal value in terms of marine life species diversity and richness.

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Aren't they wonderful? ☺
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