Wonders of the World

Various Wonders of the World lists have been compiled over the ages in order to catalogue the most spectacular natural and man-made constructions. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of remarkable man-made creations of classical antiquity, and was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. Later lists include those for the Medieval World, the Modern World, the Natural World and others.

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The historian Herodotus (484 BC–ca. 425 BC), and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene (ca 305–240 BC) at the Museum of Alexandria, made early lists of "Seven wonders" but their writings have not survived, except as references. They included the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria.
The Greek category was not "Wonders" but "theamata", which translates closer to "must-sees". The list that we know today was compiled in the Middle Ages—by which time many of the sites were no longer in existence.

[edit] Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages
Seven Wonders lists about the Middle Ages are existing historical lists for which there is no unanimity of opinion about origin, content or name.[1] These historical lists go by names such as "Wonders of the Middle Ages" (implying no specific limitation to seven), "Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages", "Medieval Mind" and "Architectural Wonders of the Middle Ages". The lists are more properly seen as a continuing type or genre in the Seven Wonders tradition than a specific list.
It is unlikely the lists originated in the Middle Ages. Brewer's calls them "later list[s]"[2] suggesting the lists were created after the Middle Ages. This is supported because the word medieval was not even invented until the Enlightenment-era, and the concept of a "Middle Age" did not become popular until the 16th century. Further, the Romanticism movement glorified all things related to the Middle Ages, or more specifically anything pre-Enlightenment era, suggesting such lists would have found a popular audience in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Some items found on some of the lists are not technically from the Middle Ages (according to modern historical standards), but we know the lists were not created by modern medieval historians, so such standards did not apply

American Society of Civil Engineers Seven Wonders of the Modern World

In the tradition of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, many other lists of wonders have been proposed, including both human feats of engineering and wonders of Nature. However, these lists are rather informal, and there is no consensus on any particular list.

Wonder
Date Started
Date Finished
Locations
Channel Tunnel
December 1, 1987
May 6, 1994
Strait of Dover, between the United Kingdom and France
CN Tower
February 6, 1973
June 26, 1976
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Empire State Building
January 22, 1930
May 1, 1931
New York, NY, U.S.
Golden Gate Bridge
January 5, 1933
May 27, 1937
Golden Gate Strait, north of San Francisco, California, U.S.
Itaipu Dam
January 1970
May 5, 1984
Paraná River, between Brazil and Paraguay
Delta Works
1950
May 10, 1997
Netherlands, Europe
Panama Canal
January 1, 1880
January 7, 1914
Isthmus of Panama, Central America

Travel wonders

Noted travel writer Howard Hillman has compiled lists of the top man-made[11] and natural[12] tourist travel wonders of the world

Giza pyramid complex