Boiling geysers, ancient earthworks, colonial forts and a swamp added only this year all carry the same UNESCO stamp. Choose the one you'd cross the country to see.
1Grand Canyon National ParkArizona park protecting the canyon carved by the Colorado River, more than a mile deep, inscribed in 1979.1000pts
2Yellowstone National ParkThe world's first national park, created in 1872 across Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, known for its geysers and inscribed in 1978.748pts
3Hopewell Ceremonial EarthworksEight monumental earthen enclosures in Ohio built by the Hopewell culture about 2,000 years ago, inscribed in 2023.686pts
4Waterton-Glacier Peace ParkUnion of Montana's Glacier National Park and Alberta's Waterton Lakes National Park, the world's first international peace park, inscribed in 1995.663pts
5San Antonio MissionsFive 18th-century Spanish missions in San Antonio, Texas, including the Alamo, inscribed in 2015.645pts
6PapahānaumokuākeaVast marine protected area around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, sacred in Native Hawaiian culture and inscribed as a mixed site in 2010.613pts
7Historic Moravian BethlehemThe Pennsylvania part of the Moravian Church Settlements site, founded in 1741 and inscribed in 2024 alongside settlements in Denmark, Germany and Northern Ireland.548pts
8Olympic National ParkWashington park combining glaciated mountains, temperate rainforest and Pacific coastline, inscribed in 1981.548pts
9La Fortaleza and San JuanSpanish colonial fortifications of San Juan, Puerto Rico, including El Morro and the governor's residence La Fortaleza, inscribed in 1983.548pts
10Chaco CultureNew Mexico complex of Ancestral Puebloan great houses such as Pueblo Bonito, together with Aztec Ruins, inscribed in 1987.547pts
11Monticello and University of VirginiaThomas Jefferson's Charlottesville home and the university campus he designed, inscribed together in 1987.490pts
12Taos PuebloMulti-storey adobe village in New Mexico, continuously inhabited by the Taos people for centuries, inscribed in 1992.490pts
13Cahokia MoundsIllinois site of the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico, centred on the earthen Monks Mound, inscribed in 1982.490pts
14Mammoth Cave National ParkKentucky park around the longest known cave system in the world, inscribed in 1981.490pts
15Hawaii Volcanoes National ParkPark on the Big Island of Hawaii containing the active volcanoes Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, inscribed in 1987.425pts
16Mesa Verde National ParkColorado park preserving Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings such as Cliff Palace, inscribed in 1978.425pts
17Poverty PointLouisiana earthworks of concentric ridges and mounds built by hunter-gatherers more than 3,000 years ago, inscribed in 2014.350pts
18Frank Lloyd Wright BuildingsEight buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, including Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum, inscribed together in 2019.350pts
19Independence HallPhiladelphia building where the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776 and the US Constitution was drafted in 1787, inscribed in 1979.350pts
20Carlsbad Caverns National ParkNew Mexico park containing more than 100 limestone caves, including the Big Room, inscribed in 1995.350pts
21Okefenokee Wildlife RefugeBlackwater swamp wilderness in southeast Georgia, centred on the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2026.350pts
22Statue of LibertyBartholdi's copper statue on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, dedicated in 1886 and inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984.350pts
23Great Smoky Mountains National ParkForested Appalachian park on the North Carolina and Tennessee border, the most visited US national park, inscribed in 1983.264pts
24Everglades National ParkSubtropical wetland at the southern tip of Florida, home to American alligators and the Florida panther, inscribed in 1979.264pts
25Wrangell-St. Elias and Glacier BayThe Alaskan parks of a glacier-covered wilderness site shared with Canada's Kluane and Tatshenshini-Alsek parks, first inscribed in 1979.163pts
26Redwood National and State ParksNorthern California parks protecting old-growth coast redwoods, the tallest trees on Earth, inscribed in 1980.0pts
27Yosemite National ParkCalifornia park in the Sierra Nevada known for El Capitan, Half Dome and its granite valley, inscribed in 1984.0pts
Photo credits
- Grand Canyon National Park — Lennart Sikkema, CC BY 3.0
- Yellowstone National Park — Carsten Steger, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks — A21sauce, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Waterton-Glacier Peace Park — TLJones007, CC BY-SA 4.0
- San Antonio Missions — Abbie Myers, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Historic Moravian Bethlehem — CNelsonHBMS, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Olympic National Park — User:Doug Dolde, CC BY-SA 3.0
- La Fortaleza and San Juan — Chad Sparkes from Kissimmee,Florida, United States, CC BY 2.0
- Chaco Culture — Bob Adams, Albuquerque, NM, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Monticello and University of Virginia — Moofpocket, CC BY 2.5
- Taos Pueblo — John Mackenzie Burke, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Cahokia Mounds — Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Mesa Verde National Park — Tobi 87, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Poverty Point — Jennifer R. Trotter, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Independence Hall — Rdsmith4, CC BY-SA 2.5
- Carlsbad Caverns National Park — Eric Guinther, User:Marshman, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Statue of Liberty — Don Ramey Logan, CC BY 4.0
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park — AppalachianCentrist, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wrangell-St. Elias and Glacier Bay — Explorer1940, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Redwood National and State Parks — Michael Schweppe, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Yosemite National Park — Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments 1
UNESCO inscribed the statue in 1984, the year an $86 million restoration began, and no other site among these 27 is a sculpture: https://youpick.best/articles/statue-of-liberty-ranked-many-ways
YP
ypb-team11h ago
