From the World Heritage inscription: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park contains Mauna Loa and Kilauea, two of the world’s most active and accessible volcanoes where ongoing geological processes are easily observed. This property serves as an excellent example of island building through volcanic processes. Through the process of shield-building volcanism, the park’s landscape is one of …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Historic District of Old Quebec: Québec was founded by the French explorer Champlain in the early 17th century. It is the only North American city to have preserved its ramparts, together with the numerous bastions, gates and defensive works which still surround Old Québec. The Upper Town, built …
From the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage inscription: The Blaenavon landscape constitutes an exceptional illustration in material form of the social and economic structure of 19th-century industry. The area around the Blaenavon ironworks provides an extraordinarily comprehensive picture of the South Wales coal and iron industry in its heyday in the 19th and early 20th …
When I tell people about Kluane National Park, I often get a quizzical look. Kluane isn’t well known, even amongst Canadians. I’m guessing this is due to it being in the Yukon which doesn’t have a very large population. Kluane is located in the southwestern most corner of the Yukon, bordering Wrangle-St. Elias National Park …
From the World Heritage inscription: Edinburgh has been the Scottish capital since the 15th century. It has two distinct areas: the Old Town, dominated by a medieval fortress; and the neoclassical New Town, whose development from the 18th century onwards had a far-reaching influence on European urban planning. The harmonious juxtaposition of these two contrasting …
From the World Heritage inscription for Garajonay National Park: La Gomera lies to the west of Tenerife and is one of seven islands that make up the Canary Islands archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa in the Atlantic. The island is accessible by ferry from Tenerife. The park can be reached by road from …
Mount Teide is the highest point in all of Spain and it sits at the center of Teide National Park on Tenerife in Spain’s fascinating Canary Islands. The park itself is a giant caldera with geologically-recent lava flows from the Teide volcano, and a desert-like environment stretching far into the distance where ever you look. …
From the World Heritage inscription for Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek: The Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek national parks and protected areas along the boundary of Canada and the United States of America are the largest non-polar icefield in the world and contain examples of some of the world’s longest and most spectacular …
From the World Heritage inscription: The Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany are a serial property comprising fifteen components. They represent an outstanding example of undisturbed, complex temperate forests and exhibit the most complete and comprehensive ecological patterns and processes of pure stands of European beech across a …