The Wadden Sea

The Wadden Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for The Wadden Sea: The Wadden Sea comprises the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area and the German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. It is a large temperate, relatively flat coastal wetland environment, formed by the intricate interactions between physical and biological factors that have given rise …

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Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park

Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park: In 1932 Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, Canada) was combined with the Glacier National Park (Montana, United States) to form the world’s first International Peace Park. Situated on the border between the two countries and offering outstanding scenery, the park is exceptionally rich in plant …

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Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo UNESCO World Heritage Site, New Mexico

From the World Heritage inscription for Taos Pueblo: Situated in the valley of a small tributary of the Rio Grande, this Pueblo Indian settlement, consisting of adobe dwellings and ceremonial buildings, exemplifies the enduring culture of a group of the present-day Pueblo Indians. It is one of a group of settlements established in the late …

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Palmeral of Elche

Palmeral of Elche UNESCO World Heritage Site, Spain

From the Palmeral of Elche World Heritage inscription for the Palmeral of Elche: The Palmeral of Elche, a landscape of groves of date palms, was formally laid out, with elaborate irrigation systems, at the time the Muslim city of Elche was erected, towards the end of the tenth century A.C., when much of the Iberian …

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Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site - UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site World Heritage inscription : Cahokia Mounds is the largest and earliest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico. It was occupied primarily during the Mississippian period (800–1350) when it covered over 1,600 hectares (3,950 acres) and included some 120 mounds. It is the pre-eminent example of a cultural, religious, and economic …

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Joggins Fossil Cliffs

Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Canada

From the Joggins Fossil Cliffs World Heritage inscription for Joggins Fossil Cliffs: The Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a 689 ha palaeontological site along the coast of Nova Scotia (eastern Canada), has been described as the “coal age Galápagos” due to their wealth of fossils from the Carboniferous period (354 to 290 million years ago). The rocks …

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Miguasha National Park

Miguasha National Park UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canada

From the World Heritage inscription for Miguasha National Park: The palaeontological site of Miguasha National Park, in south-eastern Quebec on the southern coast of the Gaspé peninsula, is considered to be the world’s most outstanding illustration of the Devonian Period known as the ‘Age of Fishes’. Dating from 370 million years ago, the Upper Devonian …

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Old Town Lunenburg

Old Town Lunenburg UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Old Town Lunenburg World Heritage inscription for Old Town Lunenburg: Old Town Lunenburg is the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America. Established in 1753, it has retained its original layout and overall appearance, based on a rectangular grid pattern drawn up in the home country. The inhabitants …

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Holašovice Historical Village Reservation

Holasovice Historical Village Reservation UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Holašovice Historical Village Reservation World Heritage inscription: Holašovice is an exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a traditional central European village. It has a large number of outstanding 18th- and 19th-century vernacular buildings in a style known as South Bohemian Folk Baroque, and preserves a ground plan dating from the Middle Ages. I …

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