Thread: Dozens of new World Heritage Sites named

Dozens of new World Heritage Sites named

But listing is just the beginning as we balance preservation and promotion

By Rob Lovitt
Travel writer
MSNBC contributor
updated 2:12 p.m. ET, Tues., July. 8, 2008

World heritage is a terrible thing to waste.

Fortunately, for 27 places around the globe, that shouldn’t be an issue as they’ve just been added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list Named during the organization’s World Heritage Committee meeting, now taking place in Quebec City, they’re the latest additions to a roster that recognizes places with outstanding natural or cultural value.

Among the new additions:

* The Nabataean archeological site of Al-Hijr in Saudi Arabia, a collection of more than 100 monumental tombs and other edifices dating from the 1st century B.C. to the 1st century A.D.
* The Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, a 56,000-hectare site in the mountains northwest of Mexico City that serves as the overwintering site for up to 1 billion butterflies from throughout North America.
* Surtsey, a “newâ€

United States of America

* Mesa Verde National Park (197
* Yellowstone National Park (197
* Everglades National Park (1979)
* Grand Canyon National Park (1979)
* Independence Hall (1979)
* Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek (1979, 1992, 1994) # * 27
* Redwood National and State Parks (1980)
* Mammoth Cave National Park (1981)
* Olympic National Park (1981)
* Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (1982)
* La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico (1983)
* Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1983)
* Statue of Liberty (1984)
* Yosemite National Park (1984) #
* Chaco Culture (1987)
* Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (1987) #
* Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (1987)
* Pueblo de Taos (1992)
* Carlsbad Caverns National Park (1995)
* Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (1995) *

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list