Bay of Fundy achieves Top 77

The Bay of Fundy has made the top 77 in the global New7Wonders of Nature Contest! The Official New7Wonders of Nature campaign began in 2007 with more than 440 participating locations from over 220 countries. At the end of 2008, 261 participants qualified as national and multinational nominees. The second phase of voting, which ended on July 7, announced the Top 77 nominees by popular vote. In the next stage of the contest, the New7Wonders independent Panel of Experts will select 28 final candidates. The 28 Official Finalist Candidates will be announced at the New7Wonders Foundation headquarters in Zurich on July 21.

The Bay of Fundy is the only Canadian site to achieve Top 77 status in the contest. “This is a very exciting time for us and all Canadians. It is an honor to be representing Canada in this contest. This is truly a historic milestone for Canada to have our own Bay of Fundy achieve such international recognition. The next stage of the contest will be decided by a panel of experts from the New7Wonders of Nature and we sincerely hope they will appreciate what a beautiful wonder of nature we have. We want to thank everyone for taking the time to vote for the Bay of Fundy. It is a true testament to all the support we have received,” said Terri McCulloch, manager, Bay of Fundy Tourism. The top 28 international nature sites (short listed on July 21) will be part of a worldwide tour and public voting will resume again throughout the rest of 2009 and 2010 to declare the final top New7Wonders of Nature.

The Bay of Fundy is best known for the highest tides in the world and has been compared, in marine biodiversity, to the Amazon Rainforest. The Bay is the summer feeding area for half the world's population of endangered North Atlantic Right whales and 12 other whale species. It is home to the world's most complete fossil record of the "Coal Age” (300 million years ago) as well as the world’s oldest reptiles and Canada’s oldest dinosaurs. UNESCO recently recognized the upper Bay of Fundy as a Biosphere Reserve and Joggins Fossil Cliffs as a World Heritage Site.