WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Sydney, Australia
Sydney is Australia’s largest city and the country’s cultural center. The shell-
shaped Sydney Opera House, shown here, is one of the most famous
buildings in the world.
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Amazon River
The Amazon River is the world’s second longest river. Only the Nile River in
Africa is longer. But the Amazon carries more water than any other river. It
travels across northern Brazil.
Woodfin Camp and Associates, Inc./Loren McIntyre
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Great Wall of China
The Ming dynasty built the Great Wall in the 1400s and 1500s. This
long stone wall was designed to defend China’s northern border from
invasions. Today, it is a popular tourist site.
Corbis/Keren Su
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Great Sphinx, Egypt
The Great Sphinx is the most famous ancient statue in Egypt. It was
built about 4,500 years ago. It is located near Giza, a suburb of Cairo.
Three of Egypt’s most famous pyramids stand near the sphinx.
Sygma/B. Annebicque
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Eiffel Tower, Paris
The Eiffel Tower is the best-known landmark in Paris. The tower rises
nearly 1,000 feet (300 meters). When it was built in 1889, it was the
tallest structure in the world.
ALLSTOCK, INC./David Barnes
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The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal in India is considered one of the most beautiful
buildings in the world. It is covered in white marble and set in a
garden with pools of water. An emperor began building it in 1632 in
memory of his wife, who had died the year before.
Corbis/Sheldan Collins
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Rome’s Colosseum
The Colosseum is a landmark in Rome, Italy. Parts of this ancient
stadium, built almost 2,000 years ago, still stand today. During the
Roman Empire, it was used for festivals and sporting contests,
including battles to the death between Roman gladiators.
Art Resource, NY/Scala
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Fuji, Japan
The most famous mountain in Japan is Fuji. It is a dormant
volcano on the island of Honshu. Fuji is sacred to many

Japanese.
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London, England
London is the capital of the United Kingdom. The Thames River, shown
here, runs through London.
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London Tower Bridge
The 244-m (800-ft) Tower Bridge spans the Thames River in London. It was
the only movable bridge crossing the Thames when it was completed in
1894. Sir Horace Jones designed the bridge, and Sir John Wolfe Barry built
it.Encarta EncyclopediaALLSTOCK, INC./Guy Marche
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Big Ben, London
Named after Sir Benjamin Hall, London’s portly commissioner of works, Big
Ben is the great bell in the clock tower on the eastern end of the Houses of
Parliament in London. The booming 13.5-ton bell first rang out in
1859.Encarta EncyclopediaALLSTOCK, INC./Masa Uemura
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Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty was one of the first sights to welcome
immigrants arriving in the United States during the late 1800s
and early 1900s. The statue, located in New York City, stands on
Liberty Island in New York Harbor.

Corbis/Joseph Sohm
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Terrorists Destroy World Trade Center A
fireball erupts from the south tower of the World Trade Center in New York
City after a hijacked passenger jet crashed into it on September 11, 2001.
Another hijacked jet had crashed into the north tower about 15 minutes
earlier. Both of the 110-story skyscrapers soon collapsed completely.
Hijackers crashed a third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and
a fourth hijacked plane crashed in Pennsylvania. The terrorist attacks, which
killed more than 3,000 people, were the deadliest in United States
history.Encarta EncyclopediaGetty Images
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Kuala
Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur’s urban sprawl extends in all directions from the city’s
downtown core. This image shows the Golden Triangle section of the city,
where the Petronas Towers dominate the skyline.Encarta EncyclopediaPicture
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The Seven Wonders of the World were works of art and
architecture considered by the ancient Greeks and Romans
to be the most fabulous creations of antiquity. They were
the Pyramids of Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the

Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus, the Mausoleum of
Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Pharos of
Alexandria.
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2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
I. Temple of Artemis
Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis is depicted in a fanciful
reconstruction based on an Italian Renaissance church in
this hand-colored engraving by Dutch artist Maarten van
Heemskerck. Built in Ephesus in Asia Minor in 356 bc, the
Greek temple was considered to be one of the Seven
Wonders of the World. It was destroyed by the Goths in ad
262.Encarta Encyclopedia
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II. Colossus of Rhodes
Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes, depicted in this hand-colored
engraving by Maarten van Heemskerck, was built about 280
bc. Standing 30 m (100 ft) high, it was built to guard the
entrance to the harbor at Rhodes. The ancient Greeks and
Romans considered it to be one of the Seven Wonders of the
World.Encarta EncyclopediaTHE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
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III. Pharos of Alexandria
Pharos of Alexandria
The Pharos of Alexandria, an ancient lighthouse, is depicted
in this hand-colored engraving by Maarten van Heemskerck.

The lighthouse stood on an island in the harbor of
Alexandria and was over 134 m (440 ft) tall. It was
considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the
World.Encarta EncyclopediaTHE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
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IV.Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
This hand-colored engraving by 16th century Dutch artist
Maarten van Heemskerck depicts the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Technically, the gardens did not hang, but grew on the roofs
and terraces of the royal palace in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar
II, the Chaldean king, probably built the gardens in about
600 bc as a consolation to his Median wife who missed the
natural surroundings of her homeland.Encarta Encyclopedia
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V. Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, depicted in this hand-
colored engraving by Maarten van Heemskerck, was built
about 353 bc. The mausoleum was a huge marble tomb built
for King Mausolus of Caria in Asia Minor. It was considered
to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World.Encarta
EncyclopediaTHE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
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VI. Statue of Zeus
Statue of Zeus

The Greek sculptor Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall
Statue of Zeus in about 435 bc. The statue, depicted in this
engraving by 16th-century Dutch artist Maarten van
Heemskerck, stood in Olympia and was perhaps the most
famous sculpture in ancient Greece. Phidias made the god’s
robe and ornaments from gold and carved the body out of
ivory.Encarta EncyclopediaTHE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
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VII. Pyramids of Egypt
Pyramids of Egypt
Of the Seven Wonders of the World, the famous
pyramids located in Giza, near the city of Cairo,
Egypt, are the only ones remaining nearly intact.
They are depicted here in an engraving by 16th-
century Dutch artist Maarten van
Heemskerck.Encarta EncyclopediaTHE BETTMANN
ARCHIVE
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Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China
The Ming dynasty built the Great Wall in
the 1400s and 1500s. This long stone wall
was designed to defend China’s northern
border from invasions. Today, it is a
popular tourist site.
Corbis/Keren Su
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reserved.

The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal in India is considered
one of the most beautiful buildings in
the world. It is covered in white
marble and set in a garden with pools
of water. An emperor began building it
in 1632 in memory of his wife, who
had died the year before.
Corbis/Sheldan Collins
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reserved.
Angkor National Park
Angkor National Park
Angkor Wat forms part of the ruins of several
capital cities of the ancient Khmer Empire in
Cambodia. Suryavarman II, a Khmer king,
built Angkor Wat in the 12th century as his
observatory and shrine.Encarta
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Ruins of the Temple of Angkor Wat
Ruins of the Temple of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat, located in central Cambodia,
is the largest temple complex in the
world. The complex was built in the 12th
century under King Suryavarman II to
celebrate the king as the incarnation of

the Hindu god Vishnu. The complex is
made entirely of stone, with corbeled
roofs and relief friezes depicting scenes
from Hindu mythology.Encarta
EncyclopediaThe Stock Market/Greg Davis
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