PUERTO PRINCESA SUBTERRANEAN RIVER NATL. PARK IS NO. 1

Asian countries dominated the top spots as of the latest update of the New7Wonders of Nature Nominees.

Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is currently ranked no. 1 among the 77 candidates of the New 7Wonders of Nature Nominees. Other nominees from the Philippines are now ranked as follows: Tubbataha Reef, Chocolate Hills and Mayon Volcano,ranked 4, 5 and 11, respectively.

Here’s the latest report from the New7Wonder of Nature’s website.

“… Voting for nominees will continue through July 7, 2009. Then the New7Wonders of Nature Panel of Experts, under the leadership of Prof. Federico Mayor, former Director-General of UNESCO, will review the top 77 nominees and choose the 21 finalists, to be announced on 21 July 2009. These finalists will then be put to popular vote.”

Last update 22-SEP-2008 06:25 GMT

1. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park,PHILIPPINES-Asia
2. Cox’s Bazar, Beach,BANGLADESH-Asia
3. Ha Long Bay,VIETNAM-Asia
4. Tubbataha Reef,PHILIPPINES-Asia
5. Chocolate Hills,PHILIPPINES-Asia
6. Al-hasa Oasis,SAUDI ARABIA-Asia
7. Ganges, River,BANGLADESH/INDIA-Asia
8. Ali Sadr Cave,IRAN,ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF-Asia
9. Sundarbans, Forest, BANGLADESH/INDIA-Asia
10.Lake Saiful Maluk,PAKISTAN-Asia
11.Mayon Volcano,PHILIPPINES-Asia
12.Mount Everest, Mountain CHINA/NEPAL-Asia
13.Liwa Oasis and Empty Quarter OMAN/SAUDI ARABIA/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES/YEMEN-Asia
14.Mount Damavand IRAN,ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF-Asia
15.Phong Nha-Ke Bang,National Park VIET NAM-Asia
16.Fansipan,Mountain VIET NAM-Asia
17.Red Sea Reef EGYPT/ISRAEL/JORDAN/OMAN/SAUDI ARABIA/SUDAN/UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES/YEMEN-Africa
18.Dead Sea,Lake ISRAEL/JORDAN/PALESTINIAN TERRITORY,OCCUPIED-Asia
19.Amazon,River/Forest BOLIVIA/BRAZIL/COLOMBIA/ECUADOR/FRENCH GUIANA/GUYANA/PERU
SURINAME/VENEZUELA-South America
20.Mount Fuji JAPAN-Asia
21.K2, Mountain CHINA/PAKISTAN-Asia

Tubbataha Reef, on the spotlight…

Tubbataha Reef is currently ranked no. 2 among the top 77 nominees to the New 7 Wonder of Nature.

Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef located in the Sulu Sea, 98 nautical miles (181 km) southeast of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, the Philippines. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park.

A scene from Tubbataha reef featuring a large soft coral, probably measuring about four feet. The location shown seems to be ideal for soft coral growth– fast current, about 70 feet deep, positioned on a vertical precipice or “wall”.Photo & text are published by courtesy of Jeff Jeffords,at divegallery.com

As a diver looks on from far above, a large red whip coral has its tentacles extended for feeding, ideally located along a deep stretch of wall at remote Tubbataha reef. From above, the depths appear deep blue to nearly black as the sunlight is rapidly absorbed by the water, never able to reflect upward from the sandy bottom hundreds of feet below.Photo & text are published by courtesy of Jeff Jeffords,at divegallery.com

This is a typically colorful reef view from Tubbataha Reef….Photo & text are published by courtesy of Jeff Jeffords,at divegallery.com

Featuring "the fiery and beautiful" Mayon Volcano of the Philippines

class=”extiw” title=”en:Pyroclastic_flows” href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroclastic_flows”>Pyroclastic flows at Mayon Volcano, Philippines, 1984.Pyroclastic flows descend the south-eastern flank of Mayon Volcano, Philippines. Maximum height of the eruption column was 15 km above sea level, and volcanic ash fell within about 50 km toward the west. There were no casualties from the 1984 eruption because more than 73,000 people evacuated the danger zones as recommended by scientists of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
(Photo and text courtesy of author, C.G. Newhall, Wikimedia Commons; Photo courtesy of the US Geological Survey (USGS)
href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayon_Volcano”>Mayon Volcano, the “perfect cone.” is an active stratovolcano in the Philippines’ province of Albay, the Bicol Region (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Four wonders from the Philippines are ranked among the top 77 official nominees to the New 7Wonder of Nature . The top 21 candidates will be announced in January 2009. The next stage is the final selection of the new 7 Wonders of Nature from the 21 finalist candidates. The magic 7 will be officially declared in the summer of 2010.

Live ranking update as of 28th May 2008:

Location- Philippines

1. Tubbataha Reef, ranked 4

2. Chocolate Hills, ranked 5

3. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River Nat’l. Park, ranked 9

4. Mayon Volcano, ranked 11

Calling fellow countrymen to access the website 7Wonder of Nature and cast your vote.