3 RP wonders now in top 5 in worldwide search for ‘7 Wonders of Nature’

Not only in the Top Ten but in the Top Five - what with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself leading the charge to have the country’s natural wonders get into the world’s list of modern-day Wonders of Nature.

Yes - not one, not two, but three of the four Philippine entries are now in the Top Five in the world-wide search for the modern-day Seven Wonders of Nature.

As of June 11, (Wednesday) Tubbataha Reef east of Palawan is now Number 2 in the list, followed by the Chocolate Hills at Number 3; while the Underground River in Palawan is at Number 5.

Tubbataha Reef, an atoll coral reef in the Sulu Sea east of Palawan, is a marine sanctuary protected by the Philippine government as the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park.

The reef is composed of two atolls - the North and South Reefs which each have a single small islet that protrudes from the water.

The atolls are separated by a deep channel eight kilometers wide.

Over 1,000 species, including many that are endangered, can be found at the reef, including manta rays, lionfish, tortoises, clownfish and sharks, according to the website literate on the well-known scuba-diving site.

The Chocolate Hills in the Visayan island of Bohol, on the other hand, is an “unusual geological formation… composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills of about the same size.”

“Spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometers, the hills are covered in green grass that turns brown during the dry season, giving them the name ‘Chocolate Hills,’” proclaims the New7Wonders site.

Meanwhile, Palawan’s Underground River - also dubbed the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park — features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 kilometer-long navigable underground river.

Located about 50 kilometers north of the city of Puerto Princesa in Palawan, the river winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea.

The underground river features amazing formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and several large chambers, with the lower portion of the river subject to tidal influences.

The website enthuses that “the underground river is reputed to be the world’s longest. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water’s edge. Monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels find their niche on the beach near the cave.”

In Number 9, or just two places short landing in the Magic 7 is another Philippine wonder - the perfectly-shaped Mayon Volcano.

“Mayon Volcano is an active volcano on the Filipino island of Luzon, 15 kilometers northwest of Legazpi City. It is classified by volcanologists as a stratovolcano (composite volcano). Its symmetric cone was formed through alternate pyroclastic and lava flows.

“Mayon is the most active volcano in the country, having erupted over 47 times in the past 400 years, and is part of what is called the Pacific Ring of Fire.”