Mount Everest

Mount Everest in the Himalaya Mountains is the tallest mountain in the world at 29,029 feet high. It grows about a quarter of an inch higher each year. Living creatures cannot survive that high up, and at 22,000 feet only the Himalayan jumping spiders, the yellow-billed choughs, and migrating geese are found. Almost 300 people have died climbing Everest, due to avalanches, rockslides, blizzards, altitude sickness, and freezing temperatures.

Rio De Janeiro Harbor

This Brazilian harbor is the world's largest natural deep-water bay. Gorgeous granite mountains border the harbor. Sugar Loaf Mountain and Corcovado Peak are the two most famous peaks in the region. The bay has over 130 islands. The symbol of the city, the giant Christ statue, stands atop Corvocado.

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the world's largest living structure. It supports incredible biodiversity. Nearly 10% of the world's fish species live off the reef. Its ecosystem is threatened due to coral bleaching caused by ocean acidification. For over 40,000 years, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have fished and hunted in these waters.

Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls is located on the Zimbabwe-Zambia border. It is the world's largest waterfall, with 500 million liters of water (equivalent to 200 Olympic-sized pools) flowing per minute. This is the only rainforest in the world where rain falls every day. It is common to see antelopes, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, zebras, horned gnus, lions, and leopards in the area.

Paricutin Volcano

The Paricutin volcano suddenly emerged from the cornfield of a farmer in the Mexican state of Michoacán in 1943. Scientists were able to document the full life cycle of a volcano from its beginning for the first time ever. In the early eruptions, Paricutin destroyed hundreds of homes. The cinder cone volcano grew three-fourths of its size in its first year and now stands almost 10,000 feet tall. It is now extinct.

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is located in Arizona. It is not the world's deepest canyon, but its size and spectacular views make it the world's most famous canyon. The Grand Canyon creates its own weather, which varies significantly in different parts of the canyon. The Colorado River runs through the canyon.

Aurora Borealis

This unique natural phenomenon, also known as the northern lights, is caused by the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and charged particles from the sun. These interactions cause colorful patches, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays in shades of green, pink, red, yellow, blue, and violet above the North Pole. The Inuit believed they were the spirits of seals, salmon, deer and beluga whales, which they hunted for survival. The northern and southern auroras usually occur at the same time and are mirror images of each other.

Source: The Seven Natural Wonders of the World
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