Scenic places: Voters can choose best sites to stand on Earth

A southern Utah scenic wonder is among the greatest places to stand on Earth. But is it the greatest?

After six months of consultation between researchers and travel bloggers, 100 of the world's most wondrous, inspiring or thought-provoking locations have been listed for people to vote on them and choose the "greatest place to stand on planet Earth 2009."

Voting is now in progress on the Internet at www.stoodthere.com and closes Dec. 1. The final winner and rankings will be announced in December. The places are a mixture of natural and man-made locations.

Among the candidates are 16 U.S. sites, including one in Utah: Monument Valley, currently ranked No. 11.

Monument Valley straddles the Utah-Arizona border. It features many unique sandstone formations in a remote setting. It has been the backdrop for probably more Western movies than any other site in the nation.

The Grand Canyon (currently ranked No. 1); the Las Vegas Strip (No. 2); the Golden Gate Bridge (No. 7); the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park (No. 17); and El Capitan in Yosemite National Park (No. 19); are the five other Western places on this top-100 list.

The Web site is designed to regularly show the changes in rankings that occur from the voting.

On a separate list of only U.S. sites, Utah has, in addition to Monument Valley, five more places listed: Dinosaur National Monument (currently ranked No. 7); Four Corners (No. 33); Bingham Canyon (No. 61); Bryce Canyon National Park amphitheater (No. 66) and the Bonneville Salt Flats (No. 97).

What about Zion Narrows, Lake Powell, Delicate Arch, the Great Salt Lake or the Salt Lake Temple? None of them is listed.

There are options on the Web site to list other places not already found there. Visitors can also add their own photos to the Web site.

Created in April 2009 in the United Kingdom, StoodThere is a social utility that helps people communicate their favorite places and events in the world, great or small, through the Internet.

The top-100 lists can be viewed at www.stoodthere.com.

E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com