The 7 Natural Wonders of the World!

Getting up close to the natural wonders of the world is not only good for your soul, it will enhance your career break experiences to another level. See how many of these you can visit on your around the world career break adventure.

1. The Grand Canyon (USA)

The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona, and is widely regarded as one of the world’s natural wonders.

The Grand Canyon is 446 km long, up to 29 km wide and attains a depth of over a mile (just under 6,000 feet). Formed over nearly 2 billion years of erosion it is known to be the largest canyon in the world! The river which flows through it – the Colorado River – passes through the 7 US states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

2. The Great Barrier Reef (Australia)

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands, stretching for over 2,300 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, on the East Coast of Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms. Incredible numbers of holiday makers and back-packers descend on the towns and cities along the Queensland coast to get up close and personal with the many stunning sea creatures!

3. The Harbour of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

The Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, also known as Guanabara Bay, is located in Brazil and is the world’s largest ocean bay, created by erosion from the Atlantic Ocean. The Harbour is surrounded by stunning granite mountains that include the famous Sugar Loaf Mountain at 1,296 feet (395 m), Corcovado Peak at 2,310 feet (704 m), and the hills of Tijuca at 3,350 feet (1021 m).

The Harbour is the largest bay in the world based on volume of water and makes for an incredible sight from the top of one of Rio’s epic mountains.

4. Mount Everest (Tibet and Nepal)

Mount Everest (also known in Nepal as Sagarmatha and in Tibet as Qomolangma) is the Earth’s highest mountain above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas, with its peak rising to 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) above sea level. Those who have made the heart-stopping climb and reached the summit describe it as standing on top of the world.

The first recorded people to summit Mount Everest were Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, although Sherpas from Tibet and Nepal had been climbing the mountain for centuries.

5. Northern Lights (Arctic and Antarctic)

The Northern Lights, also known as an aurora, (from the Latin word aurora, meaning ‘sunrise’), is a natural light display in the sky in high latitude areas such as the Arctic and the Antarctic regions. The dramatic light show is caused by the collision of solar wind and charged particles with the high altitude atmosphere.

The charged particles and solar wind are directed into the atmosphere by the Earth’s magnetic poles, creating some truly magical and dramatic effects! It really is one of the most magnificent spectacles on earth.

6. Paricutin Volcano (Mexico)

Parícutin Volcano (or Volcán de Parícutin) is a cinder cone volcano in the Mexican state of Michoacán, close to a lava-covered village of the same name. The volcano is unique in the fact that its evolution from creation to extinction was witnessed and studied as it grew from the ground.

Three weeks before the first eruption, rumbling noises that resembled thunder were heard by people near the village. The volcano grew quickly, reaching five stories height in just a week, and it could be seen from miles away in only a month, before reaching a final elevation of 9,186 ft.

7. Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe and Zambia)

Victoria Falls, or Mosi-oa-Tunya (The Smoke that Thunders), is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Victoria falls is 1,708 metres wide, making it the largest curtain of water in the world. It drops between 90m and 107m into the Zambezi Gorge and an average of 550,000 cubic metres of water descend over the edge every minute.

A famous feature is the naturally formed armchair, also known as “Devil’s Pool”, near the edge of the falls on the Zambian side. When the river flow is at a certain level, a rock barrier forms a pool with minimal current, allowing adventurous swimmers to splash around in relative safety a few feet from the point where the water plummets over the edge.

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