UNESCO
Stands for “United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization”
It sponsors a lot of projects like teacher-training
programs, international science programs, the
promotion of freedom of the press, cultural history
projects, the promotion of cultural diversity,
translations of world literature, etc
They also aim to protect the world's cultural and
natural heritage (World Heritage Sites)
World Heritage Sites
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place (such as a
forest, mountain, lake, island, desert, monument,
building, complex, or city) that is listed by UNESCO as
of special cultural or physical significance.
There are a total of 1,073 World Heritage Sites
Of these, 832 are cultural, 206 are natural and 35 are
mixed properties.
Italy is home to the greatest number of World Heritage
Sites with 49 sites, followed by China (45) and Spain
(44).
Criteria for Being a World
Heritage Site
There are 10 criteria, some Cultural and some Natural
Nominated sites must be of "outstanding universal value"
and meet at least one of the ten criteria.
Examples of criteria:
Is a masterpiece of human creative genius
Is a unique or exceptional testimony to a tradition or to a
civilization
It contains natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural
beauty and aesthetic importance
It is an outstanding example representing major stages of
Earth's history
It contains very important and significant natural habitats for
conservation of biological diversity
UNESCO’s First Mission
Two ancient temples in Egypt were moved out of the
way of the flooding Nile River
Abu Simbel was built 3,000 years ago
The new dam would flood the site, so UNESCO planned
to move the monuments completely away from the river
—65 meters higher and 200 meters back
The delicate work began in 1964. Using tools ranging
from handsaws to bulldozers, the statues and the
temples were carved into 20-ton blocks which were put
back together on the new site.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur-H7dP8FNc, 2:58
The 7 Wonders of
the World
More Than Just One List
People have made many versions of this list.
Sometimes they focus on natural wonders, others
they focus on man-made wonders.
Countries or regions can make their own lists.
There is even an underwater wonder list.
The 7 Wonders of the
Ancient World
The Pyramids
The Pyramids in
Egypt are the only
ancient wonders
still standing
Built 2584–2561 BC
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Built around 600 BC
Destroyed by
earthquakes
Huge building filled
with gardens built by a
king for his queen
Located in Babylon,
which is now Iraq
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Built around 466–
456 BC in Greece
Destroyed by fire
It was a large
statue of the god
Zeus, made of gold
and ivory
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Built around 550 BC
in what is now
Turkey
Destroyed by fire
and plundering
It was a temple
built for the Greek
goddess Artemis
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Built in 351 BC in
Turkey
Destroyed by
earthquakes
It was a great tomb
built for the wife of
a king
Colossus of Rhodes
Built 280-292 BC in
Greece
Destroyed by
earthquakes
Was a 100 foot tall
statue in the harbour of
the city
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Built in 280 BC in
Egypt
Destroyed by
earthquakes
Was around 400
feet tall; was the
tallest building on
Earth for centuries
The 7 Wonders of the
Medieval Ages
Stonehenge
Coliseum
Catacombs of Kom el
Shoqafa
Great Wall of China
Porcelain Tower of
Nanjing
Hagia Sophia
Leaning Tower of Pisa
The New 7 Wonders of the
World
7 New Wonders of the World
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeIQI7jdM2k
1. The Great Wall of China
To protect them from
the raids and invasions
of the various nomadic
groups of the Eurasian
Steppe.
The entire wall with
all of its branches
measure out to be
21,196 km
Several walls were
being built as early as
the 7th century BCE
The majority of the
existing wall is from
the Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644)
2. Petra -Jordan
A historical and
archaeological city
The city is famous for its
rock-cut architecture
Another name for Petra is
the Rose City due to the
color of the stone out of
which it is carved.
Established possibly as
early as 312 BC as the
capital city of the Arab
Nabataeans, it is a symbol
of Jordan, as well as
Jordan's most-visited
tourist attraction
3. Christ the Redeemer -Brazil
The statue is 98 ft tall, on a 26 ft
pedestal, and its arms stretch 92 ft
wide.
It is approximately two-thirds the
height of the Statue of Liberty's height
The statue is located at the peak of
the 2,300 ft Corcovado mountain in the
Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking
the city of Rio de Janeiro
4. Machu Picchu -Peru
A 15th-century Incan
town situated on a
mountain ridge
The Incas built the estate
around 1450
They abandoned it a
century later at the time
of the Spanish Conquest
Although known locally, it
remained unknown to the
outside world until an
American historian
“rediscovered” it in 1911
5. Chichen Itza -Mexico
A large pre-Columbian
city built by the Mayan
people
Built around 750-900
AD on the Yucatan
peninsula
It was built close to
two large natural sink
holes that would have
provided water
throughout the year as
there were no rivers or
streams passing
through this area.
One of the sink holes
was thought to have
been used for human
sacrifice in times of
droughts
6. Colosseum –Italy
The largest ampitheatre
ever built
In Rome, Italy
Built 72-90 AD
It could hold between
50,000 and 80,000
spectators
It was used for
gladiatorial contests and
public spectacles such as
mock sea battles, animal
hunts, executions, re-
enactments of famous
battles, and dramas
based on Classical
mythology
7. Taj Mahal –India
An ivory-white marble
mausoleum in the city of
Agra.
It was commissioned in
1632 by the emperor Shah
Jahan(reigned 1628–1658),
to house the tomb of his
favourite wife, Mumtaz
Mahal.
The walls are inlaid with
semi-precious stones
Because of the Muslim
practice of no
humans/animals being
portrayed, the art is all
calligraphy and beautiful
patterns
The 7 Natural Wonders of
the World
1. The Grand Canyon -USA
A steep-sided canyon carved
by the Colorado River in the
state of Arizona
277 miles long, up to 18
miles wide and attains a
depth of over a mile
For thousands of years, the
area has been continuously
inhabited by Native
Americans, who built
settlements within the
canyon and its many caves.
The Pueblo people
considered the Grand Canyon
a holy site, and made
pilgrimages to it
2. The Great Barrier Reef -Australia
The world's largest coral
reef system composed of
over 2,900 individual reefs
and 900 islands
A problem now is mass
coral bleaching caused by
climate change
Incredibly diverse wildlife
30 species of whales,
dolphins, and porpoises
More than 1,500 fish
species live on the reef
Six species of sea turtles
3. Harbor of Rio de Janeiro -
Brazil
When the first European
explorers came here,
the bay they found was
spectacularly
surrounded by huge,
oddly-shaped mountains
Taking a cue from the
date on which they'd
found this amazing
harbor, they named it
the "January River," or
Rio de Janeiro.
4. Mt Everest –the Himalayas
Earth's highest
mountain
Its peak is 29,029 ft
above sea level
The international
border between China
(Tibet Autonomous
Region) and Nepal runs
across Everest's
precise summit point
As of 2016, there are
well over 200 corpses
still on the mountain,
with some of them
even serving as
landmarks
5. Aurora –polar regions
A natural light display
in the sky,
predominantly seen in
the high latitude
(Arctic and Antarctic)
regions.
Auroras are produced
when the
magnetosphere is
disturbed by the solar
wind
The result emits light
of varying colour and
complexity
6. Paricutin Volcano -Mexico
A volcano located 322
km west of Mexico
City.
The volcano surged
suddenly from the
cornfield ofalocal
farmer in 1943,
attracting both popular
and scientific attention
This eruption
presented the first
occasion for modern
science to document
the full life cycle of an
eruption
7. Victoria Falls -Zimbabwe
A waterfall in southern
Africa on the Zambezi
River at the border of
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
While it is neither the
highest nor the widest
waterfall in the world,
Victoria Falls is
classified as the largest,
based on its combined
width and height,
resulting in the world's
largest sheet of falling
water.
Victoria Falls is roughly
twice the height of
North America's Niagara
Falls and well over
twice the width of its
Horseshoe Falls.
7 Wonders of the Underwater
World
Palau
Belize Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
Deep-Sea Vents
Galápagos Islands
Lake Baikal
Northern Red Sea
7 Wonders of Canada
1. The Sleeping Giant –Thunder Bay
A landform on Sibley
Peninsula which
resembles a giant lying
on its back
One Ojibway legend
identifies the giant as
Nanabijou, who was
turned to stone when
the secret location of a
rich silver mine was
disclosed to white men
2. Niagara Falls -Ontario
The collective name
for three waterfalls
that straddle the
international border
between Ontario
and New York
The Horseshoe Falls,
the American Falls
and the Bridal Veil
Falls
Located on the
Niagara River, which
drains Lake Erie into
Lake Ontario
3. Bay of Fundy –East coast
A bay between New
Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, and Maine
It has the highest
tidal range in the
world
The famous
Hopewell Rocks are
very popular with
tourists
4. Nahanni National Park –Northwest
Territories
A beautiful park filled
with canyons and
rivers such as the
South Nahanni river
There are hot springs
It is located in 3
different ecozones
5. Northern Lights –northern
Canada
6. The Rockies –Western
Canada
Mt Robson is the
highest mountain at
12,972 feet
It is the northern
portion of the North
American Rockies
7. Cabot Trail –Nova Scotia
A highway and scenic
roadway in northern Cape
Breton Island in Nova
Scotia, Canada
It is named after the
explorer John Cabot who
landed in Atlantic Canada
in 1497, although most
historians agree his
landfall likely took place
in Newfoundland and not
Cape Breton Island
Now you do the research…
http://whc.unesco.org/e
n/list/You can browse
through all of the UNESCO
sites by country
Choose a famous UNESCO
site and create a poster
about it
Where is it? When and
why was it built? By
whom?
What is so special about
it?
What is one of the
UNESCO criteria that it
fits?
Old City of Jerusalem
Statue of Liberty
Galapagos Islands
Loire valley
Fraser Island, Australia
Rideau Canal
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
CidadeVelha
Temple of Apollo
Mount Wuyi