Yellowstone National Park.Photo byIgnacio Palacios via Getty Images

Many people may be familiar with UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but did you know it was actually thanks to the United States that we have this critical global initiative? When the U.S. established the first national park with Yellowstone in 1872, it initiated an international movement to protect national treasures of significance. A 100 years later, the U.S. proposed the World Heritage Convention, a landmark initiative that set a global standard and practice for identifying, classifying, and protecting such landmarks. This proposal, which was the first of its kind, was a significant step towards the conservation of cultural and natural heritage on a global scale. It was the first country to ratify its creation. America's influence on establishing UNESCO Heritage sites can't be overstated. To this day, it is the most widely accepted international treaty that is honored worldwide.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites are designated for cultural or natural significance and selected based on ten criteria for their outstanding universal value. Across the United States, we have no shortage of them. Let's take a look.

Cultural Heritage Sites:

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

Photo byhttps://www.golaurelhighlands.com/

Fallingwater is a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935. It is situated in the Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania and partly built over a waterfall on the Bear Run River. After its completion, Time Magazine called it Wright's "most beautiful job. " It is listed among the Smithsonian's "Life List of 28 Places to See Before You Die." In 2019, the house and seven other Wright constructions were inscribed as World Heritage Sites under "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright."

Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Pueblo Bonito Aerial View.Photo byWikipedia Commons

A National Historical Park in the American Southwest hosting a concentration of pueblos, Chaco Canyon, was once a thriving regional center for the ancestral Pueblo people from 850 to 1250 CE. It is a sacred and deeply personal place for many Indigenous peoples throughout the Southwest. The park contains the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico, preserving one of the most important pre-Columbian cultural and historical areas in the United States.

Taos Pueblo

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Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark. The multistory adobe buildings, located 3 miles northeast of Taos Plaza, have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years. Archaeologists say that ancestors of the Taos Natives lived in this valley long before Columbus “discovered” America and hundreds of years before Europe emerged from the Dark Ages.

San Antonio Missions

The San Antonio Missions | The Mission Trail.Photo byhttps://www.nobleinns.com

The site encompasses a group of five frontier mission complexes situated along a stretch of the San Antonio River basin in southern Texas and a ranch located 37 kilometers south. It includes architectural and archaeological structures, farmlands, residencies, churches and granaries, and water distribution systems. The complexes were built by Franciscan missionaries in the 18th century and illustrate the Spanish Crown’s efforts to colonize, evangelize, and defend the northern frontier of New Spain. The San Antonio Missions are also an example of the interweaving of Spanish and Coahuiltecan cultures, illustrated by various features, including the decorative elements of churches, which combine Catholic symbols with indigenous designs inspired by nature.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

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Cahokia Mounds, northeast of St Louis, Missouri, is the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico. It was occupied primarily during the Mississippian period (800–1400), covering nearly 1,600 hectares and some 120 mounds. It is a striking example of a complex chiefdom society, with many satellite mound centers and numerous outlying hamlets and villages. This agricultural society may have had a population of 10–20,000 at its peak between 1050 and 1150. Primary features at the site include Monks Mound, the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas, covering over 5 hectares and standing 30 meters high.

Natural Heritage Sites

Redwood National and State Parks

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Redwood National Park, a region of coastal mountains north of San Francisco, is a sight to behold. Its magnificent forest of coastal redwood trees, the tallest and most impressive in the world, is a testament to the beauty of nature. The park's marine and land life, including sea lions, bald eagles, and endangered California brown pelicans, are equally remarkable, adding to its awe-inspiring charm.

Olympic National Park

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Olympic National Park, located in the northwest of Washington State, is a treasure trove of diverse ecosystems. Glacier-clad peaks, extensive alpine meadows, and an intact and protected temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest make up the park's rich landscape. The park's 100 km of wilderness coastline, the longest undeveloped coast in the contiguous United States, further adds to its intrigue. It is rich in native and endemic animal and plant species, making it a fascinating destination for nature enthusiasts.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Photo byDoug Meek / Getty Images

This karst landscape in New Mexico comprises over 80 recognized caves. They are outstanding for their size and mineral formations' profusion, diversity, and beauty. Lechuguilla Cave stands out, providing an underground laboratory where geological and biological processes can be studied in a pristine setting.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Photo byhttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/

This site contains two of the most active volcanoes in the world, Mauna Loa (4,170 m high) and Kilauea (1,250 m high), both tower over the Pacific Ocean. Volcanic eruptions have created a constantly changing landscape, and the lava flows reveal surprising geological formations. Rare birds and endemic species can be found there, as well as forests of giant ferns.

Grand Canyon National Park

Photo byhttps://www.flagstaffarizona.org/

The Grand Canyon, nearly 1,500 m deep and carved out by the Colorado River, is a world wonder. Located in Arizona and cutting across the Grand Canyon National Park, its horizontal strata retrace the geological history of the past 2 billion years. The prehistoric traces of human adaptation to this harsh environment add a sense of wonder to the canyon's historical significance.