7 Wonders of the Emerald Coast

By Tara Roberts, EmeraldCoast.com

For a couple thousand years the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World have remained the pinnacle of human ingenuity. Statutes and temples that were truly of Biblical proportions were included in this list. All were man-made, all monuments to mythological gods, leaders and kings, or power and opulence.

What sort of grand edifice would best represent the Emerald Coast? Could a quintessential catalog of man-made structures unique to this little slice of heaven be easily assembled?

A destination for vacationers world-wide coming to the Emerald Coast for white sand, golden sun, clear green waters, and tropical temperatures, perhaps the Wonders best characteristic of the area should not be man-made. Instead, should these Wonders be a tribute to the natural beauty of the Coast?

Would they pay homage to the gods of tourism and commercialism, to community leaders, or power and opulence? Or, would they be monuments to the natural wonders of our coast?

Voting has closed and the debut of the Seven Wonders of the Emerald Coast has been selected. The runaway favorite was the white sand beaches, followed by unique features both natural and manmade that make the Florida Panhandle special.

Check out the results and see if you agree with the choices.

Seven Ancient Wonders of the World

Only a couple of these will be familiar from high school world history or Sunday School. Compiled more than 2,000 years ago, the list includes structures limited to the Mediterranean rim, or what at the time, was considered the center of learning, art and architecture, and power.

Unfortunately the only remaining structures that were also around when the first list was compiled are the Egyptian pyramids.

Colossus of Rhodes – Greece
Lighthouse of Alexandria – Egypt
Statue of Zeus – Greece
Hanging Gardens of Babylon – Iraq
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus – Turkey
Temple of Artemis - Turkey
Pyramids of Giza – Egypt

The New Seven Wonders of the World

This past summer on July 7 (the significance of 07/07/07 must be given a nod) a list of the New Seven Wonders of the World was announced.

After years of Internet voting and tens of millions of ballots cast, the new list includes man-made structures from across the globe – making them a more representative list of Wonders of the “World.”

Sadly, North America did not have a candidate make the cut. The Statue of Liberty was among the 21 finalist, but lost out to these winners: