Voting procedure for the New7Wonders of Nature Presentation of the 452 nominees 1. Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves (NIGER) The Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves is the largest protected area in Africa, covering over 7.7 million hectares. It includes the volcanic massif of the Aïr Mountains, a Sahelian island isolated in climate, flora and fauna in the surrounding Saharan desert of Ténéré. Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves contains an outstanding variety of landscapes, plant species and wild animals. 2. Aitutaki Atoll (COOK ISLANDS) Aitutaki is one of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The barrier reef that forms the basis of Aitutaki is roughly the shape of an equilateral triangle with each side measuring 12 km in length. The southern edge of the triangle is almost totally below the surface of the ocean, and the eastern side is composed of a string of small islands (including Mangere, Akaiami, and Tekopua). 3. Al-hasa Oasis (SAUDI ARABIA) Top 77 The Al-Hasa oasis is the largest oasis in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.In ancient times, Al-Hasa was at the center of the trade routes which traders followed between the east of the Arabian peninsula and India, Persia and the Far East.The Oasis has a dry, tropical climate, with a five-month summer and a relatively cold winter. It enjoys the benefits of copious reserves of underground water. 4. Aldabra Atoll (SEYCHELLES) Aldabra Atoll, 1,150 km southwest of Mahe, is the largest raised coral atoll in the world, encompassing more than a dozen islands bordering a vast lagoon.The atoll’s islands nurture an array of both unique flora and fauna, as well as the world’s largest population of 150,000 giant tortoises. Its lagoon boasts the most vibrant marine life of the entire archipelago. 5. Aletsch Glacier (SWITZERLAND) Aletsch Glacier covers more than 120 square kilometres (more than 45 square miles) in southern Switzerland and is the largest glacier in the Alps. It descends round the south of the mountain Jungfrau into the valley of the Upper Rhône and down its eastern extremity lies the glacier lake Marjelen. To the west rises the mountain Aletschhorn. 6. Ali Sadr Cave (IRAN) Ali Sadr is a cave about 100 km north of Hamedan in western Iran. Its walls extend up to 40 m high.The cave contains several large, deep lakes, and there is a river that flows through it. 7. Alpamayo, Mountain Peak (PERU) Alpamayo is one of the most impressive peaks in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru, measuring 5,947 m. In 1966, the Alpamayo mountain was declared "the most beautiful mountain in the world" by UNESCO. 8. Amah Rock (HONG KONG) Amah Rock ("the stone gazing out for her husband") is a naturally occurring rock located on a hilltop in southwest Sha Tin, Hong Kong. The rock is approximately 15 m in height, and its shape looks like a woman carrying a baby on her back. According to a legend, the faithful wife of a fisherman climbed the hills every day, carrying her son, to watch for the return of her husband, not knowing he had been drowned at sea. As a reward for her loyalty, she was turned into a rock by the Goddess of the Sea so that her spirit could unite with that of her husband. 9. Amazon (BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, FRENCH GUIANA, GUYANA, PERU, SURINAME, VENEZUELA) Top 77 The Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia, the Amazon jungle or the Amazon Basin, encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), though the forest itself occupies some 5.5 million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres), located within nine nations. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total flow greater than the top ten rivers worldwide combined. It accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total world river flow and has the biggest drainage basin on the planet. Not a single bridge crosses the Amazon. 10. Angel Falls (VENEZUELA) Top 77 Angel Falls is the highest waterfall in the world, at 1,002 m, and is located in the Canaima National Park in Bolivar State, along Venezuela’s border with Brazil. It is more than 19 times higher than Niagara Falls. The uninterrupted descent of water falls 807 m. 11. Antuco, Volcano (CHILE) Antuco is a stratovolcano in the Bio-Bio region of Chile, on the shore of the Laguna del Laja lake. It rises 2,985 meters above sea level and has snow on its peak throughout the year. Many different kinds of forests grow on its slopes. 12. Apurimac, River (PERU) The Apurimac River, in south-west Peru, is the source of the world’s largest river system, the Amazon. Its source is less than 160 km from the Pacific coast, and it is fed by glacial meltwater from the Nevado Mismi ridge in southern Peru. The river runs through narrow gorges of up to 3,000 m deep, or twice as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States, with rapids and falls spread out along its course. 13. Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro (PANAMA) The Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro consists of six densely forested islands and scores of uninhabited islets. The islands are covered in dense jungles of vine tangles and forest palms that open up to pristine beaches fringed by reeds and mangroves. Beneath the water, an extensive coral reef ecosystem supports countless species of tropical fish. 14. Arenal Volcano (COSTA RICA) Arenal Volcano is an active andesitic (meaning that the rock has been crystallized from silicate minerals) stratovolcano in north- western Costa Rica, where Arenal is the youngest and most active of all the mountains. It was presumed extinct until July 29, 1968 when an earthquake caused it to erupt, after approximately 400 years of dormancy. Arenal rises 1657 m above sea level and overlooks Lake Arenal; both are part of Arenal Volcano National Park. 15. Askania-Nova (UKRAINE) Top 77 Askania-Nova is a biosphere reserve in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, located within the dry Tavriya steppe. The natural reserve was established in 1874 by landowner Friedrich Eduardovych Falz-Fein around the German settlement Askania-Nova . The reserve consists of the acclimatization zoo, botanical garden (2.1 km²), and a virgin steppe preserve (110 km²), and has total area of 825 km². 16. Atacama Desert (CHILE) Top 77 The Atacama Desert is a virtually rainless plateau in Chile, covering a 600 mile strip of land on the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Andes mountains. The rain shadow on the leeward side of the Andes keeps this over 20 million-year-old desert 50 times drier than the California’s Death Valley. It is the second-driest desert in the world. The Atacama occupies 70,000 square miles in northern Chile, composed mostly of salt basins, sand, and lava flows. 17. Aukštaitija National Park (LITHUANIA) Aukštaitija National Park is a national park in northeastern Lithuania, about 100 km north of Vilnius. Established in 1974, it is the oldest of the 5 national parks in Lithuania. Park territory occupies 405.7 square km. Over 70 percent of its territory is covered by woods, of which 80 percent are pine stands, some 200 years old. An amazing 64 species of plants, 8 of fungi and 48 different kinds of birds are found in the park. The park is famous for its biodiversity - 59% of all plant species in Lithuania can be found in the park, although it covers less than 1% of Lithuania's territory. 18. Australian Alps (AUSTRALIA) Stretching from Canberra through the Brindabella Range to the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales and along the Great Divide through eastern Victoria, Australia’s alpine and sub-alpine environments are unique. Broad mountain plateaus, rolling ridges and steep valleys, glacial lakes, clear mountain springs and waterfalls all characterize the Australian Alps. The Australian Alps contain the head waters of some of Australia’s most important rivers. 19. Australia’s Coastal Wilderness (AUSTRALIA) Australia’s Coastal Wilderness encompasses stunning coastal and wilderness walks, rich with diverse flora and fauna. A rare and relatively untouched region with an unspoilt wilderness coastline, Australia’s Coastal Wilderness provides year-round experiences of landscapes, natural history and living culture. 20. Auyantepui, Mountain (VENEZUELA) Auyantepui, or "Devil's Mountain," is an impressive, heart-shaped table-top mountain almost 3,000 m high in the Guiana Highlands, in Venezuela’s Bolivar State. Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, drops dramatically from a cleft near the summit. The falls are 979m high, with an uninterrupted descent of 807m. Auyantepui encompasses 650 square km. 21. Avenue of the Baobabs (MADAGASCAR) The Avenue or Alley of the Baobabs is a prominent group of baobab trees in western Madagascar. Along the Avenue are about a dozen trees some 30 m in height, of the Adansonia grandidieri species, which is endemic to Madagascar. Baobab trees can be up to 800 years old and are known locally as renala (Malagasy for "mother of the forest"). They are a legacy of the dense tropical forests that once thrived on Madagascar. The trees did not originally tower in isolation over the scrub landscape but stood in a dense forest. Over the years, as the country's population grew, the forests were cleared for agriculture, leaving only the baobab trees, which the locals preserved as much in respect as for their value as a food source and building material.