the New 7 Wonders of Nature Nominees

Komodo National Park, National Park
Current rank: 13

Indonesia’s Komodo National Park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller ones, for a total area of 1,817 square kilometers (603 square kilometers of it land). The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon. Later, it was also dedicated to protecting other species, including marine animals. The islands of the national park are of volcanic origin.

Lake Toba
Current rank: 22

Lake Toba is the largest volcanic lake in the world. At 100 km long and 30 km wide, measuring 505 m at its deepest point, it is situated in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Surrounded by tall mountains, it cradles the large island of Samosir in its middle.

Krakatau, Volcanic Islands
Current rank: 24

Nestled between the large Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra is the Krakatau Volcano National Park. In the fourth century, a single marine volcano stood at this site, but in 416 A.D., the caldera of the volcano collapsed. The remnants formed a new caldera, or volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following an eruption, around 7 km in diameter, with the peak’s remnants becoming the three islands of Verlaten, Lang and Krakatau. This volcano remnant was not dormant, however, and in August 1883, the volcano on Krakatau erupted with such violence that the sound was heard as far away as Madagscar and Alice Springs, Australia, thousands of km away. It was one of the largest terrestrial explosions in recorded history. The eruption also caused a tsunami 40 m high. Since 1927, continued eruptions and outflow material has formed a fourth island in the park, Anak Krakatau, or “Child of Krakatau.