My previous post about the seven wonders of the United States generated quite a bit of discussion. One reader, Robert Cerello, devised his own lists of man-made and natural wonders of the U.S. I present them here (with minor edits) so that we can have the opportunity to discuss them and perhaps come up with a list that has some consensus behind it. Post your comments to share what you think about these lists or what you would add and subtract from each list.
Man-Made Wonders
- New York City's Towers and Bridges
- Washington D.C.'s National Mall and Memorial Parks
- Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
- Guggenheim Museum, New York City
- Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota
- Chicago's Museums and Lake Shore Parks
- The Las Vegas Strip and Hotels
- Sierra Nevada Mountains
- Arctic National Wildlife Preserve, Alaska
- The Grand Canyon
- Yellowstone National Park
- Mississippi and Missouri River System
- Yosemite National Park
- The Great Plains
Comments
I am surprised Vegas is on there.
How come no one ever mentions stone mountain in Georgia?
Man-made: St. Louis Arch instead of Las Vegas. How about the Corn Palace? No, it’s not hokey, it’s really pretty cool! I agree with Elaine about Stone Mountain also. ‘Course Stone Mountain and Corn Palace are privately owned. Does that make a difference?
Natural: Badlands and/or Painted Desert or any of the rock features in Utah or Nevada. What about the Rocky Mountains or the Appalachians? What is the argument for Sierra Nevada and Great Plains. What about Niagra Falls (yes, the Canadian side has the best view, but they’re still part of the US) or the Everglades or the Hawaiian volcanoes?
Hi again Matt,
Man made wonders are all well and good but I think most of us are more interested in the natural wonders of this great land. Meteor Crater, Yosemite, The Everglades, Niagara Falls, the Great Lakes, Yellowstone,Carlsbad Caverns etc.
.. Of these, Yosemite is my favorite. It is breathtaking. Your soul is at peace when there. Of the manmade ones I would for sure include the Golden Gate Bridge. A discussion on these things could go on for a long time, with no agreement. Human nature. Keep us informed Matt and thanks for your great newsletter.
I find it very limiting to only have seven wonders because it discredits all of the other wonders in our land and our world.
For the man-made wonders, I agree with NYC, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Mt. Rushmore, as well as D.C., but what about the St. Louis Arch? I could suggest the Statue of Liberty, but that was not built by the US…I also find that the Guggenheim Museum should fall under NYC and have Hoover Dam take its place. I agree with Las Vegas, though, and Hoover Dam could fit in under there. Though Vegas doesn’t have the most upholding reputation, its lights and magnificently designed hotels took years of work and hours of labor and deserve to be on this list.
For the Natural Wonders, I have been to the Sierra Nevada and feel that the Rockies or the Appalachians have a finer view. Again, there are so many amazing places in the US, and I would not like to discredit any of them by picking just seven.
I feel inclusion of the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve, Alaska is motivated primarily for political reasons, and has no place on this list of “wonders”.
Man-made:
1.Golden Gate Bridge
2.Mt. Rushmore
3.Stone Mountain
4.St. Louis Arch
5.Hoover Dam, Columbia River Dams, or the TVA project
6.Statue of Liberty–not made here, but is here
7. Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Natural
1. Grand Canyon, without a doubt
2. Hawaii’s volcanoes
3. Great Lakes
4. New York Harbor or Chesapeake Bay (my choice)
5. Everglades
6. Badlands, Rockies or Appalachians
7. Yellowstone
Those would be my nominees, but obviously, I had a tough time limiting.
To me, the greatest “man-made” wonder of the United States is the ignorance of its populace about the rest of the world. Lists of wonders (ho-hum) contribute in their own small way. Other American wonders: ineradicable racism; national warm-heartedness towards other “folks”; Fox News. McVegas certainly belongs there, however shameful in every imaginable way (from ecology to ideology).
Is this an official wonders of the US or is it just made up by americans because in all honesty nearly every country in the world could have 7 wonders
Hi Matt!
In my view, the most significant natural wonder in the US is the Great Lakes. To this day, the lakes remain unspoiled, though over the years we have tried to diminish them. All else pales when compared to their vastness, beauty, and resource. There are five, so someone come up with two more!
Amen to the Great Lakes and the St. Louis Arch. Down to Las Vegas. For me the most dramatic site in the United States is to stand at Trophy Point and look up the Hudson River from the campus of the US Military Academy on a sunny day. It is unparalleled.
Hi folks
My original idea was a “given”–limiting the choice to US mainland territory and to 7 “wonders”. Restoring the 7 Natural and a separate 7 Man-made wonders criteria was my suggestion also; the two categories are self-evidently different in their most imporant aspect, scientifically.
Now, the St. Louis Arch to me is less worthy than many siggestions; sorry. Niagara Falls is a fine suggestion, as would be Carlsbad Caverns, The Rockies, The Appalachians, The Everglades, Meteor Crater and the Great Lakes. Hawaii’s Volcanoes are great–but not mainland. I had in mind in my list visual impact/sensory impact on the average first-time visitor.
A number of suggestions made here were not drawn from that standpoint point. Of my original 7 and 7 lists, let me say there’s going to be a subjective element, but that I have visited over forty states over a 50 year period–and these are the experiences which impressed me the most. Usually more than once.
All comments are appreciated; but the standard I used was “how affecting the sight/site was”. It’s as hard for me therefore to ignore the thousand-mile wide Great Plains–not my adjective, remember–as it would be to include Meteor Crater or the Astrodome, for that reason. The Florida Keys and Great Lakes can’t be seen well enough I suggest ; and I find Niagara Falls less inspiring than I did other zones. As a man-made site, for instance, Las Vegas by night should perhaps be high on anyone’s list who’s applying that notion for the stated reason–
regardless of what goes on there by night.
Regards,
Rob Cerello
Thanks for the ideas. Any other nominations
Somehow, I have never heard of Stone Mountain, so I looked it up and was excited to learn about its interesting history.
I think there should be direct mention of the redwoods and I’m not sure if anyone mentioned the trans-alaska pipeline system for the “manmade” list.
This topic is a great exercise. It’s nice to reflect on the significant challenges the manmade achievements faced, and it’s also fun to review our sense of place of the natural wonders we are fond of.
Sad to say, I agree with Tim Behrend about the ignorance of the population of the US. especially with regards to geography. If there is any doubt, just watch Jay Leno when he does his bit called “Jay Walking” and the question touches on geography. 99% of the time it is embarrassing to watch and to hear the replies
Hola para todos los estadounidenses… se que tienen un extenso país, el cual no se puede comparar con el mío territorialmente… (Costa Rica 51.100) (EEUU 9.500.000 no se exactamente) pero hay cosas mas interesantes en su pais que las mostradas en esta clasificación… He viajado a su pais y conozco parte de Florida, Arizona, California, Nevada.. etc.. por lo cual considero que deberian realizar una votacion por region porque hay tantas cosas interesantes que quedan por fuera y otras no tan interesantes que clasificaron tal es el caso de Las Vegas… es una ciudad fantastica pero no como para ser una maravilla… Sedona,Az es interesante… El desierto de Arenas blancas en Nuevo México… muchas muchas cosas… las cataratas del Niágara en Nueva York… habria que realizar una verdadera elección…
If you’ve ever seen the video of how the St. Louis Arch was engineered and built, it is truly a wonder. The precision required to get the final block in place was unreal. And no one died during the construction. A true marvel given the recent crane collapses.
I have been to Chicago and D.C. I wouldn’t classify these as wonders–architecturally beautiful yes, but no great feat really.
Well, the original list of seven wonders of the ancient world were all man made, so I don’t really see the point of a ‘natural list’. But on the main list, I would like to see Stone Mountain on the list (take off Chicago). And is it me but does having the towers AND bridges or having the DC mall and parks seem like cheating? “We can’t narrow it down so we just put the whole city on the list.” Just pick something! I say it should be the Empire State Building and the White House.
There are 2 spectacular natural wonders in NM, little known outside the state except to foreign nationals, who visit White Sands National Monument in amazing numbers. White Sands is amazing — 250 sq mi of the whitest of whites gypsum sand, the dunes of which creep up to 1 foot per year. Lesser known is the Valley of Fires National park (known locally as The Malpais), where c. 10,000 yrs ago lava flowed up through a rift and formed an immense field, pretty sure it’s over 200 sq mi. (Things come big in New Mexico.) The contrast of stark black and white natural wonders within the same state is stunning. But please don’t spread this around too much — we like our Land of Enchantment sparsely populated!
Eero Saarinen’s Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the official name of the St. Louis Gateway Arch, is a marvel of engineering. To look at it from any angle, especially at sunset or lit up in the evening is most inspiring, especially when it frames the Old Courthouse. It belongs on the list. Thanks
I think Olympic National Park should be on the natural list, the entire peninsula is beautiful including the only rain forest in the USA, Hoh Rain Forest. Considering that Yosemite National Park is part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is this not a double entry. You could just have the Sierra Nevada Mountains as a wonder as that will automatically include Sequoia and Yosemite, both parks are extremely impressive.
I find the items on the lists too broad.
I agree that to name the Sierras but not the Rockies is strange. The Grand Tetons should be on there.
What about the islands of Penobscot Bay, Maine? The petrified forest? Sedona red rocks? The Sonoran desert?
I agree the Redwoods deserve mention.
I think that man-made wonders should be individual things, not “buildings in New York.” Gotta be more specific.
It’s really difficult to narrow things down to seven.
Of all the amazing and spectacular sights to view in Alaska you pick the desolate and mosquito ridden wasteland known as ANWR?
If we were to examine the official 7 wonders of the world, they are very specific places, not general areas that are beautiful/awe inspiring.
As difficult as it seems, I think that to make the list truely complete, we need to have definitive places, not regions. Saying “The Rockies”, is great, but is there a specific point that is especially amazing? Instead of saying New Yorks Buildings, is there one in particular, say the Empire State Building, that could be the definitive point that is the “Wonder of the U.S.”?
Another possible suggestion is to create the 7 Historical Wonders of America.
The list might include, Jamestown, The Alamo, Donner Pass, St. Augustine FL, to give a few suggestions.
The Grand Canyon, Red Rock Canyon in Nevada, the 5 great lakes, Crater Lake, Lake Tahoe, Highway 1,a/k/a Pacific Coast Highway, particularly driving it from San Francisco to Monterey, are all natural and man-made US wonders. There are several more, but time does not permit me to name there.
Sonja
1 of the most amazing things i have ever experenced is the veiw from the st. louis arch!!! it should be #1 on the man made list. Take off Vages! It really is a terrible place. In 1 night there you can get divorced,married,divorced(again),and loose your life savings!!!!!! And of course Niagra Falls should be on the Natraul list!!!
No one put Mt. Rainier on here. It’s one of the most BEAUTIFUL natural landmarks in the United States.
Located in Washington State
I can’t believe that anyone wiould ever be so snide and totally rude by saying “what’s the big deal with the “natural” part of the seven wonders of the world”? I’ll tell you why it so important to put the word “natural” when refering to the wonders of the world, it means that it is a God-made,beautiful part of mother nature! GOD created nature. Think about that when you snidely make another remark about “natural”. And with your “new” list of wonders of the world, remember that GOD gave people the wisdom to build such things as damns and bridges!