Top 6 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the USA

Located in over eighteen out of the fifty different states, the top Five USA UNESCO World Heritage Sites are definitely worth stopping by for a look once you set foot on the land of the free. There are actually twenty-one in total but given that they’re all far off, you might want to pick some good ones first before going for the rest.

Mesa Verde National Park

This one’s actually the first to be added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site from the US, way back in 1978. The place looks great with all the cliff dwellings that were made by the Pueblo people way back in the 6th and 12th centuries. A lot of these constructions go higher than 2,600 meters. Some of the notable ones, out of the 600, include the Balcony House, Cliff Palace, and the Square Tower.

Many of these dwellings were first found in 1874.

Yellowstone National Park

This one was also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at the same time as the Mesa Verde National Park. Consisting of more than 9,000 square kilometers of nothing but untouched forest, Yellowstone is definitely rich with nature’s beauty. The park is also known for containing half of the entire world’s geothermal elements, and has the largest concentration of geysers too.

It’s also rich in natural history, given how Yellowstone has been the venue of discovery of over 150 fossil plants.

Grand Canyon

Now, everybody’s heard of this. Right in the center of the Grand Canyon National Park, the Grand Canyon was actually Colorado River’s gorge, which stretches up to 270 miles and is about 18 miles wide. When the Colorado River’s channels were cut, the 6,000 feet gorge revealed an endless amount of natural history within its layers.

The Grand Canyon became one of the US’ UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1979.

Independence Hall

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, the Philadelphian Independence Hall was designed and built by Andrew Hamilton, which he had finished by 1753 to accommodate the members of the Pennsylvanian colonial assembly.

Historically important is the fact that this was also the very venue where the Declaration of Independence was signed way back in 1776, along with other historical conventions that followed after.

Redwood National and State Parks

In California, there are forests rich in redwood trees, which are actually the largest of its kind in this world.

These majestic forests have caught the world’s attention, allowing the national and state parks to get the title of a UNESCO World Heritage Site as early as 1980. But more than the trees, the parks are also next to a beautiful coastline which happens to be the natural nesting grounds for various species of migratory birds, among which are the endangered kind, such as the Brown Pelican and the Bald Eagle.

Mammoth Cave National Park

As the name suggests, this park is home to the Mammoth Cave, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

The Cave is the longest in the world, stretching up to 390 miles worth of cavern passageways, and is a habitat to more than 130 different species.