There are 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the USA.
The United States has 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Of these, ten are cultural, one is mixed, and twelve are natural sites, most of which are national parks. These sites are important sites in America's rich cultural history and represent the amazing diversity of its people. Mesa Verde National Park and Yellowstone National Park were the first two American sites to be designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1978. Since then, a total of 23 sites have been designated in 19 states and two territories. Two sites are cross-border, meaning they cross the border into Canada. Some of these objects are highlighted below, and a complete list of these objects can be found at the bottom of the article.
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| UNESCO World Heritage Sites in US |
In 1982, UNESCO listed Kohokia Kurgan as a World Heritage Site. It is the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico. Cahokia started out as a Mississippi city with a wide range of residential buildings and monumental public works that have retained their authenticity as the cultural, economic, and religious center of the natives for centuries. The site features sections of labor, agriculture, commerce, and settlement structures indicating a suburban society with exceptional organization. The facility is located in southwestern Illinois, near the banks of the Mississippi River and across from St. Louis, Missouri.
Chaco Culture National Historic Park
In 1987, UNESCO listed the Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico as a World Heritage Site. It guards the ruins of complex Chakan complexes built between 900 and 1150 AD. The ruins depict an exceptional civilization that developed lofty architectural designs with limited resources and harsh weather conditions in the southwest.
Everglades National Park
In 1979, UNESCO designated the Everglades National Park as a natural World Heritage Site due to its vast subtropical wilderness that is home to rare and endangered animal species such as the manatee, the elusive Florida panther, and the American crocodile. It provides a significant breeding ground for tropical wading birds and has the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere. Over a million visitors visit the facility annually.
Yellowstone National Park
In 1978, UNESCO named Yellowstone a natural heritage site. About half of the world's geothermal sites are located in Yellowstone National Park, with over 10,000 units. The park is also home to the world's largest group of geysers, numbering almost 300 people, most notably the Old Faithful Geyser. Subalpia is the most famous and rich ecosystem of the park. Yellowstone is home to hundreds of endangered or threatened species of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. Its megafauna includes wolves, grizzly bears, and a herd of bison and elk. The bison herd is the largest and oldest herd in the country. Native Americans have lived in the park for over 11,000 years, and their culture is deeply rooted in the scenery and features of the site.
Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and also a UNESCO site. The Colorado River has fed the canyon for almost 17 million years. The horizontal layer dates back to 2 billion years. The canyon has an unusual and unique combination of geological features and erosion patterns. The canyon is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and 1 mile deep. About 5 million people travel to the Grand Canyon every year.
Redwood National and State Parks
The park is home to the tallest and oldest trees on earth, over 160 million years old. The park is a preserve for a vast prairie, oak forests, wild rivers, and a forty-mile coastline. California State Parks and the National Park Service managed coastal wildlife and were designated as a World Heritage Site in 1980 by UNESCO.
Birthplace
Papahānaumokuākea is a US National Monument covering 583,000 square miles (1,510,000 square kilometers) of ocean waters, islands and atolls in the Pacific Ocean. It was established in 2006 and expanded in 2016 to make it the largest protected area in the world. In 2010, UNESCO listed the National Maritime Monument as a Mixed World Heritage Site. The area has cultural and natural values due to its cosmological and traditional significance to local Hawaiians. The site is also home to rare, endangered species of flora and fauna.