The last of the natural wonders of the world that we will be discussing is the Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro means ‘River of January’ in Portuguese, named so in the 16th century by the Portuguese explorer Goncalo Coelho, whose small fleet arrived in the bay on January 1, 1502. They had been mapping the shoreline of South American and the spectacular and huge balloon-shaped bay — which stretches 20 miles (32km) inland — appeared to them as the mouth of a large river and so they simply named the place ‘River of January’, in honour of the month of their arrival without wasting much time on coming up with a more creative name.

The Rio de Janeiro harbour, also known as Guanabara Bay, is the world’s largest natural deep-water bay in the world, based on the volume of water in it. In addition to its size, what makes it so spectacular are the gorgeous granite mountains, some of them being monolith, surrounding it and the 130 islands in the bay, which are actually peaks of smaller hills with their bases covered by water. The bay was named Guanabara (meaning ‘Arm of the Sea’) by the original inhabitants of the area, the Tamoio people.

At the entrance of the bay is the peak of Pao de Acucar (meaning ‘Sugarloaf’), again named by the Portuguese. It is a lopsided peak of bare granite 1,299 feet (396m) tall and the highest peak near the harbour is Corcovado (The Hunchback) that rises 2,300 feet (700m) above the water. On Corcovado stands famous statue of Christ the Redeemer, one of the seven new wonders of the world, and this mountaintop also offers the best view of the harbour and city of Rio de Janeiro. The Tijuca hills are at a little distance, but they stand at an impressive 3,350 feet (1021m).

The modern Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro is spread across the length of the bay, which spans an astonishing 80km (50km)! And most places in the city enjoy an incredible view of the spellbinding harbour and beaches.

Going back into history once again, we find that after the Portuguese, French traders arrived there in 1555 but they didn’t last for long and were expelled by the Portuguese. With time the city, its population and popularity grew and it became the capital of Brazil which it remained from 1763 to 1960, until it was moved to Brasilia.

It took Guanabara bay million of years to become as huge as it has. Brutal waves of the Atlantic Ocean eroded the hills around the bay, washing away the softer rocks while the hard rocks remain to brave all assaults. However, while the hills and mountains braved nature, they are helpless to protect themselves from the destruction caused by man in the name of development. The city is expanding both towards the hills and the sea for which the surrounding hills are now being flattened to use both for construction and as material for landfill. This is also leading to the changing shape of the harbour.

Expansion, development and, invariably, pollution are spoiling this natural wonder, but with Rio being such a vibrant city, the carnival capital of the world, according to some, this is expected. And now with the FIFA World Cup 2014 taking place there, much is being done to prepare the city for this mega event.

Cable cars taking tourists to the top of the Sugarloaf and train ride to Corcovado and the statue of Christ the Redeemer are among the most favoured ways of seeing this magnificent bay and city that boasts two wonders of the world. i