Manas Wildlife Sanctuary Assam

Manas takes its name from the Goddess Manasa. The Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is noted for its spectacular scenery, with a variety of habitat types that support a diverse fauna, making it the richest of all Indian wildlife areas. The park represents the core of an extensive tiger reserve that protects an important migratory wildlife resource along the West Bengal to Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan borders. Its wetlands are of international importance. It is also the single most important site for the survival of pygmy hog, hispid hare and golden langur.

Continent: Asia

Country: India

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VII)(IX) (X)

Date of Inscription: 1985

Manas Reserve Forest

The park, which includes part of Manas Reserve Forest and all of North Kamrup Reserve Forest, constitutes the core of Manas Tiger Reserve located in the forest divisions of Kachugaon, Haltugaon, Western Assam Wildlife and North Kamrup. Lying in the foothills of the Outer Himalaya, the area is low-lying and flat. The Manas River flows through the western portion of the park, where it splits into three separate rivers, and joins the Brahmaputra some 64 km further south. These and other rivers running through the tiger reserve carry an enormous amount of silt and rock debris from the foothills, resulting from the heavy rainfall, fragile nature of the rock and steep-gradients of the catchments.

This leads to the formation of alluvial terraces, comprising deep layers of deposited rock and detritus overlain with sand and soil of varying depth, shifting river channels and swamps. The area of the Boki basin, in the west of the park, is sometimes inundated during the monsoon. The three main types of vegetation are: tropical semi-evergreen forests in the northern part of the park; tropical moist and dry deciduous forests (the most common type); and extensive alluvial grasslands in the western part of the park.

Manas Wildlife Sanctuary Assam

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There is also a considerable variety of aquatic flora along river banks and in the numerous pools. Dry deciduous forests represent early stages in succession and are replaced by moist deciduous forests away from water courses, which, in turn, are succeeded by tropical semi-evergreen climax forest. Grasslands cover about 50% of the park.

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A total of 55 mammals, 36 reptiles and three amphibians have been recorded Manas harbours by far the greatest number of India's Schedule I mammals of any protected area in the country. Many are typical of South-East Asian rainforest and have their westernmost distribution here. Mammals include golden langur, a recently discovered endemic restricted to Manas, capped langur, Hoolock gibbon, clouded leopard, tiger (second-largest population in India), leopard, golden cat, fishing cat, leopard cat, marbled cat, binturong, sloth bear, wild dog, Ganges dolphin, Indian elephant, Indian rhinoceros, pygmy hog, swamp deer, sambar, hog deer, Indian muntjac, water buffalo, gaur, giant squirrel, hispid hare and Indian pangolin.

Over 450 species of bird have been recorded, including the threatened Bengal florican, great pied hornbill, wreathed hornbill and other hornbills. Uncommon waterfowl species include spot-billed pelican, lesser adjutant and greater adjutant.

Reptiles include a variety of snakes, gharial and monitor lizard. Assam roofed turtle has recently been recorded.

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Keoladeo National Park Rajasthan

Keoladeo National Park is situated in eastern Rajasthan, the park is 2 km south-east of Bharatpur and 50 km west of Agra. The area consists of a flat patchwork of marshes in the Gangetic plain, artificially created in the 1850s and maintained ever since by a system of canals, sluices and dykes. Normally, water is fed into the marshes twice a year from inundations of the Gambira and Banganga rivers, which are impounded on arable land by means of an artificial dam called Ajan Bund, to the south of the park. The first time, usually in mid-July, is soon after the onset of the monsoon and the second time is in late September or October when Ajan Bund is drained ready for cultivation in winter.

Continent: Asia

Country: India

Category: Natural

Criterion: (X)

Date of Inscription: 1985

Keoladeo Monsoon

Thus, the area is flooded to a depth of 1-2 m throughout the monsoon (July-September), after which the water level drops. From February onwards the land begins to dry out and by June only some water remains. For much of the year the area of wetland is only 1,000 ha. Soils are predominantly alluvial - some clay has formed as a result of the periodic inundations. In a semi-arid biotype, the park is the only area with much vegetation, hence the term 'Ghana' meaning 'thicket'.

The principal vegetation types are tropical dry deciduous forest, intermixed with dry grassland in areas where forest has been degraded. Apart from the artificially managed marshes, much of the area is covered by medium-sized trees and shrubs. Forests, mostly in the north-east of the park, are dominated by kalam or kadam, jamun and babul. The open woodland is mostly babul with a small amount of kandi and ber. Scrublands are dominated by ber and kair. The aquatic vegetation is rich in species and is a valuable source of food for waterfowl.

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Primates are rhesus macaque and langur. Large predators are absent, leopard having been deliberately exterminated by 1964, but small carnivores include Bengal fox, jackal, striped hyena, common palm civet, small Indian civet, Indian grey mongoose Herpestes edwardsi , fishing cat, leopard cat, jungle cat and smooth-coated otter. Ungulates include blackbuck, chital, sambar, hog deer, nilgai and wild boar and feral cattle. Other mammals include Indian porcupine and Indian hare.

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An estimated 65 million fish fry are carried into the park's water impoundments by river flooding every year during the monsoon season, which provides the food base for large numbers of wading and fish-eating birds. Some 364 species of bird have been recorded in the park, which is considered to be one of the world's finest areas for birds, with a unique assemblage of species.

The park's location in the Gangetic Plain makes it an unrivalled breeding site for herons, storks and cormorants and an important wintering ground for large numbers of migrant ducks. The most common waterfowl are gadwall, shoveler, common teal, cotton teal, tufted duck, comb duck, little cormorant, great cormorant, Indian shag, ruff, painted stork, white spoonbill, Asian open-billed stork, oriental ibis, darter, common sandpiper, wood sandpiper and green sandpiper. Sarus crane, with its spectacular courtship dance, is also found here.

Among land birds is a rich assortment consisting of warblers, babblers, bee-eaters, bulbuls, buntings, chats, partridges and quails. Grey hornbill and Marshall's iota are also present. There are many birds of prey including the osprey, peregrine, Pallas' sea eagle, short-toed eagle, tawny eagle, imperial eagle, spotted eagle and crested serpent eagle. Greater spotted eagle has recently been recorded breeding here, a new breeding record for the species in India and lesser spotted eagle nested in the park in 1986, the first nesting record for the species in India for some time.

Several other threatened avifauna species occur, including Dalmatian pelican, spot-billed pelican, greater adjutant, lesser adjutant, marbled teal, Baikal teal, Baer's pochard, red kite, cinereous vulture and sociable lapwing.

Reptiles include water snakes, Indian python, banded krait, green rat snake, turtles and monitor lizard.

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Kaziranga National Park India

In the heart of Assam, Kaziranga National Park is one of the last areas in eastern India undisturbed by a human presence. It is inhabited by the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, as well as many mammals, including tigers, elephants, panthers and bears, and thousands of birds. In the heart of Assam, this park is one of the last areas in eastern India undisturbed by a human presence. It is inhabited by the world's largest population of one-horned rhinoceroses, as well as many mammals, including tigers, elephants, panthers and bears, and thousands of birds.

Continent: Asia

Country: India

Category: Natural

Criterion: (II)(IV)

Date of Inscription: 2011

The Water Coverage of Kaziranga

The site is on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra River at the foot of the Mikir Hills. The park lies in the flood plains of the Brahmaputra. The riverine habitat consists primarily of tall, dense grasslands interspersed with open forests, interconnecting streams and numerous small lakes (bheels). Three-quarters or more of the area is submerged annually by the flood waters of the Brahmaputra. Soils are alluvial deposits of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.

There are three main types of vegetation: alluvial inundated grasslands, tropical wet evergreen forests and tropical semi-evergreen forests. Grasslands predominate in the west, with tall 'elephant' grasses on the higher ground and short grasses on the lower ground surrounding the bheels. They have been maintained by annual flooding and burning over thousands of years. Tropical wet evergreen forests, near Kanchanjhuri, Panbari and Tamulipathar blocks, are dominated by trees. Tropical semi-evergreen forests occur near Baguri, Bimali and Haldibari.

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The park contains about 15 species of India's threatened mammals. It harbours the world's largest population of Indian rhinoceros and Indian elephant

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Other mammals include capped langur, a small population of hoolock gibbon, tiger Panthera tigris , leopard, sloth bear, Ganges dolphin, otter, wild boar, water buffalo, gaur, sambar, swamp deer, hog deer and Indian muntjac. Elephants and other animals migrate with the advent of the monsoon and head southwards to the Mikir Hills and beyond to avoid the annual flooding of the national park.

The numerous water bodies are rich reservoirs of food (including fish) and thousands of migratory birds, representing over 100 species, visit the park seasonally from as far afield as Siberia. There is a grey pelican rookery near Kaziranga Village. Other birds of interest include black-necked stork, lesser adjutant stork, Pallas's fish eagle, grey-headed fish eagle, Bengal florican, swamp partridge, grey peacock-pheasant, great pied hornbill, green imperial pigeon, silver-breasted broadbill and Jerdon's bushchat. The avifauna comprises over 300 species.

The reptilian fauna include water monitor, Indian python, common cobra and king cobra are present.

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Lushan National Park China

The World Heritage site consists of a cultural landscape of outstanding aesthetic value and with powerful associations with Chinese spiritual and cultural life. Lushan (Mount Lu) is an area of striking scenic beauty and interest from the point of view of the natural environment that has attracted spiritual leaders and scholars, and also artists and writers, for over two millennia. The mountains have been the inspiration for some of the finest Chinese classical poetry. It is a landscape that has inspired philosophy and art, and into which high-quality cultural properties have been selectively and sensitively integrated up to the present century.

Continent: Asia

Country: China

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (II) (III) (IV) (VI)

Date of Inscription: 1996

Human activities in Lushan

Date back to at least the Neolithic period (c. 4000 BQ). Its importance began in the Han dynasty, beginning in the late 3rd century BC. Emperors of this and succeeding dynasties ordered the building of a long series of monumental structures and it became a centre for study and religion. The monk Hui Yang founded the influential Jingtu Sect of oriental Buddhism in the East Grove Temple, and it was from here that Jian Zhen set out to carry Buddhism to Japan around 750.

During the Tang dynasty (618-907) Lushan became the centre of other sects - the Linji, the Caodong and the Huang Long. This identification as a spiritual centre resulted in other religions being attracted to Lushan. Lu Xiu Jing built the Simplicity and Tranquillity Temple as the repository of Taoist scriptures. Other great religions, such as Islam and Christianity, also established centres at Lushan. Its spiritual and political significance has endured to the present day.

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The cultural properties in Lushan National Park fall into four groups: archaeological sites; inscriptions; historic buildings; and Chinese and foreign villas. Archaeological sites include the large Neolithic village of Tingzi Dun (4th millennium BC), the farming, hunting and fishing settlement of the Shang and Zhou dynasties of Fanzhou Yan (1600-1000 BC), the residences of Tao Yuan-Ming, who moved several times during his lifetime (365-427), and the battlefield of Boyang Lake (Three Kingdoms Period, 220-65).

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More than 900 inscriptions on cliffs and stone tablets have been recorded in Lushan. The oldest of the cliff inscriptions is in the calligraphy of the great pastoral poet of the Jin dynasty (265-420), Tao Yuan-Ming. Others are the work of the famous Song dynasty (960-1279) poet Huang Ting-Jian, calligrapher Mi Fu and philosopher Zhu Xi. Equally famous are those from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the work of such notables as the philosopher Wang Shouren and the writers Li Mengyang and Wang Siren. The inscribed tablets range in date from around 1050 to as recently as 1938, when the Chinese words 'Reverence and Respect' were inscribed to encourage the army fighting the Japanese invaders.

Some 200 historic buildings are scattered over Lushan National Park. The most celebrated is the East Grove Temple complex at the foot of Xianglu Peak, to the west of Lushan. Begun in AD 386, this ensemble was added to progressively over the centuries. The group of prayer halls is important for the study of Buddhism in China and relationships between China and Japan. It is considered to be the earliest garden temple in China. The White Deer Cave Academy at the foot of Five Old Man Peak was established in 940 but fell into disuse; it was revived towards the end of the Song dynasty (late 12th century) by Zhu Xi, who made it a renowned centre for academic research. It attracted many additional structures until the 19th century and is a complex of temples, study halls and libraries.

The closing years of the 19th century and the early 20th century saw Lushan become a fashionable holiday area, and many villas were built by Chinese and foreign visitors. Their styles reflect various architectural fashions, and their siting is based on the US National Park model and English landscape design. Over 600 survive, of which three are under state protection as key cultural sites.

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Hortobagy National Park the Puszta Hungary

The landscape of the Hungarian Pasta, an outstanding example of a cultural landscape shaped by a pastoral human society, preserves intact and visible the evidence of its traditional use over more than two millennia and represents the harmonious interaction between human beings and nature. The Puszta consists of a vast area of plains and wetlands in eastern Hungary. Traditional forms of land use, such as the grazing of domestic animals, have been present in this pastoral society for more than two millennia.

Continent: Europe

Country: Hungary

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (IV)(V)

Date of Inscription: 1999

The Hortobagy National Park

The Hortobagy National Park is part of the Tisza plain of eastern Hungary. It is surrounded by settlements to the south, east and west. The two main settlements are Tiszafured on the Tisza River and the city of Debrecen. The two are linked by the main historic communication ridge route. Numerous peoples migrated from the east into the Carpathian Basin in prehistory. The nomadic group who arrived around 2000 BC at the end of the Bronze Age were the first to leave their imprint on the natural landscape in the form of many burial mounds (kurgans ). Their dimensions are variable - 5-10 m high and 20-50 m in diameter - and they are generally conical or hemispherical. They are always to be found on dry land, but located near a source of water.

They were often used for secondary burials by later peoples, and in some cases Christian churches were built on them by the Hungarians. Also to found in the park are the low mounds (tells) that mark the sites of ancient settlements, now disappeared. Settlement in the middle Ages followed the Debrecen-Tiszafured route. The main group was in the area defined by the existing settlements of Hortobagy, Naghegyes, Naduvdar and Nagyiván. Documentary records have shown that many of these had churches.

Hortobagy National Park the Puszta Hungary

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The Hungarians arrived in what is now Hungary at the end of the 9th century under their leader, Arpád. As the area was ideal for animal husbandry, they occupied the lands around the Tisza River in the 10th and 11th centuries, and by the early 13th century there was a dense network of settlements, whose economic base was pastoralism, in the Hortobágy, the main axis of which was the trading route from Buda through Tiszafúred and Debrecen into Transylvania.

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With the progressive depopulation of the region from the 14th century onwards, the settlements disappeared. The only manmade features in the wide plains of the Puszta were light temporary structures of reeds and branches, used to provide winter shelter for animals and men. The sole surviving structures from this time, which were public buildings built from stone, are the bridges and the csardas . The Nine Arch Bridge at Hortobagy is the longest stone bridge in Hungary. A wooden bridge known to have been in existence as early as the 14th century was replaced in 1827-33 by the existing structure in classical style. The Zador Bridge in the southern part of the National Park was built in 1809 with nine arches, but the two side piers were swept away by a flood on the Zádor River in 1830 and never replaced. The csardas were provincial inns built in the 18th and 19th centuries to provide food and lodging for travellers.

The typical csarda consists of two buildings facing one another, both single-storeyed and thatched or, occasionally, roofed with shingles or tiles. A tavern was normally set up on the side of the road with a railed-off counter in a room that had access to the wine cellar. A few also had one or two guest rooms. On the opposite side of the road from the csárda was provision for horses and carriages. The best known of the csardas are at Balmazújváros (18th century), Hortobagy (first built in 1699 and reconstructed on several occasions), Nagyhegyes (early 19th century), Nagyivan (mid-18th century), and Tiszafüred (c. 1770).

In the early 19th century, water regulation systems were set up, notably control over flooding of the Tisza River: this resulted in the draining of former wetlands, which were converted to arable farming. Reduction of the water available for the natural pastures decreased their fertility, which was the cause of serious overgrazing in the early part of the 20th century. Efforts were made to diversify the land use of the Hortobágy, the most successful of which was the creation of artificial fishponds between 1914 and 1918 and again in the 1950s.

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Pirin National Park Bulgaria

Pirin National Park is extending over an area of 27,400 ha and lying at an altitude of 1,008-2,914 m in the Pirin Mountains, south-west Bulgaria, Pirin National Park has a limestone Balkan landscape, with lakes, waterfalls, caves and pine forests. The rugged mountains, with some 70 glacial lakes scattered throughout them, are home to hundreds of endemic and rare species, many of which are representative of the Balkan Pleistocene flora. The mountains also have diverse and unique landscapes of great aesthetic value.

Continent: Europe

Country: Bulgaria

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VII)(VIII) (IX)

Date of Inscription: 1983

Pirin Mountain

Pirin Mountain stretches from north-west to south-east between the valleys of the Strouma and Mesta rivers. There are many rivers and waterfalls. Winter in the upper parts is cold and long with snow cover remaining for five to eight months. Summer is cool and short. The presence of limestone rocks, the southerly position of the range and close proximity to the Aegean, coupled with its relative isolation, have made Pirin Mountain an important refuge for many species.

Forests in the park are mainly coniferous with endemic Macedonian pine being widespread and forming the timberline in the granite part of the mountain. Endemic Bossnian pine occurs in the highest zone of the karst area. Unique stands of Pinus peuce and Pinus leucodermis , up to 250-300 years old and 30-45 m high, are found in Baiouvi Doupki-Djindjiritsa Reserve. Some individual Pinus leucodermis trees are over 500 years old. Silver fir, Austrian pine, spruce, Scots pine and beech form a mixed coniferous forest type.

Pirin National Park Bulgaria

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Generally, the timberline has developed as a result of human interference over a long period and descends as low as 2,000 m, but in some places reaches 2,200-2,300 m. In the subalpine zone there are thickets of dwarf mountain pine and Juniperus sibirica . Above 2,400-2,600 m is a layer of alpine meadows, stony slopes, screes, rocks, etc.

The flora of Pirin, comprising as it does many rare species, is of great interest and beauty. One of the most active flora speciation in Bulgaria is situated in the limestone part of the mountain. Pirin has a mixture of central European, Alpine, Balkan mountain and sub-Mediterranean species, but in addition there are about 30 local endemic species.

There is a wide variety of animal species including many endemic species and glacial relicts among the invertebrate fauna. Threatened bird and mammal species include brown bear, grey wolf, pine marten, rock marten, polecat, badger, otter, wild cat, red deer, roe deer, wild boar, Balkan chamois, golden eagle, capercaillie, hazel grouse, eagle owl, black woodpecker and three-toed woodpecker.

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Tongariro National Park New Zealand

The Maoriare is a Polynesian people who reached Aotearoa (New Zealand) before AD 1300 (and possibly as early as AD 600-800). They came as settlers in large double-hulled canoes -men, women, and children, with their plants and domestic animals. One of the most important was the Arawa canoe, which made its first landfall at Whangaparaoa on North Island's East Cape and then travelled to Maketu in the Bay of Plenty. The descendants of that canoe still hold authority over the land as far south as the Tongariro National Park. The people of the Park - Ngati Tuwharetoa - identify with Ngatoroirangi, the navigator of the Arawa canoe and legendary bringer of fire to Tongariro.

Continent: Oceania

Country: New Zealand

Category: Mixed Heritage

Criterion: (VI)(VI) (VIII)

Date of Inscription: 1993

Mixed Heritage Property

Mananui To Heuheu, paramount chief of Ngati Tuwharetoa, was one of the few Maori chiefs who refused to sign the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 and thereby cede sovereignty to the British Crown. His son Horonuku, who succeeded Mananui in 1846 when he was buried by an avalanche on the mountain and who became known as Te Heuheu Tukino in 1862, came under severe pressure from land-hungry European settlers. When faced with the dilemma of having to divide his land following a dispute with the Maniapoto iwi or lose it to the Land Court, he took the advice of his sonin- law Lawrence Grace to make it 'a taou place of the Crown, a sacred place under the mana of the Queen". With the approval of the Tuwharetoa chiefs the land was handed over to the Crown as a gift in September 1887.

The original deed of gift made an area of 2640 ha consisting of three small circles around the main peaks into the first national park in New Zealand, and the fourth in the world. This was too small for effective management and over the years that followed large-scale purchases of land were made by the Crown, so that when the Tongariro National Park Act was passed in 1894 its area had increased to some 25,000 ha. A survey report in 1904 recommended that the area should be more than doubled, and today the Park's boundaries enclose over 79,000 ha.

Tongariro National Park

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World Heritage W National Park of Niger

The part of 'W' National Park that lies in Niger is situated in a transition zone between savannah and forest lands and represents important ecosystem characteristics of the West African Woodlands/Savannah Biogeographical Province. The site reflects the interaction between natural resources and humans since Neolithic times and illustrates the evolution of biodiversity in this zone. The 'W' National Park, so named because of the local configuration of the Niger River (220,000 ha), is located in a transition zone between Sudan and Guinea savannahs and contiguous to 'W' National Parks in both Burkina Faso and Benin, and the Reserve de Faune de Tamou to the north. Shrub savannah is the most widespread vegetation type occurring on shallow infertile soils.

Continent: Africa

Country: India

Category: Natural

Criterion: (IX)(X)

Date of Inscription: 1996

'W' Hosts Ecosystems

W hosts ecosystems representing the interaction between natural resources and humans since Neolithic times. This interaction has produced characteristic landscapes and plant formations and represents the evolution of biodiversity in the Sudan-Sahelian biome. The park hosts the major populations of ungulates in West Africa and wild plant species considered very important for conservation and genetic research. The wetland area of the park is of international importance for the conservation of birds as a Ramsar site. The fact that the park is contiguous to other protected areas in Burkina Faso and Niger is important for the survival of species that need large areas for their seasonal migrations.

A total of 454 plant species has been recorded, including two orchid species found only in Niger. More than 70 mammal species have been described, and around 350 bird species are found in the area. Most of the populations of ungulate species are increasing, thanks to protection programmes. Reptiles and fishes occurring in the park are typical of the Niger River.

W National Park of Niger

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Mammoth Cave National Park USA

Mammoth Cave National Park, located in the state of Kentucky, has the world's largest network of natural caves and underground passageways, which are characteristic examples of limestone formations. The park includes by far the longest cave system in the world, with known passages extending some 550 km. It is of geological importance due to the 25 million years of cave-forming action by the Green River and its tributaries. Almost every type of cave formation is known within the site and the geological processes involved in cave formation are continuing. The long passages with huge chambers, vertical shafts, stalagmites and stalactites, gypsum 'flowers' and 'needles' and other natural features of the cave system are all superlative examples of their types. The park and its underground network of more than 550 km surveyed passageways are home to varied flora and fauna (including a number of endangered species).

Continent: North America

Country: United States of America

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VII)(VIII) (X)

Date of Inscription: 1981

Network of Caves

It is the most extensive and diverse cave ecosystem in the world, with over 200 species, mostly invertebrate, indigenous to the network of caves, with 42 species adapted to life in total darkness. Outside the cave, the karst topography is superb, with fascinating landscapes, luxuriant vegetation and abundant wildlife - terrestrial vertebrates include 43 mammal, 207 bird, 37 reptile and 27 amphibian species. All the features of a karst drainage system are found within the site. Fossils are distributed throughout the rocks of the Mississippian age and include brachiopods, crinoids and corals.

Surface features are also important and Big Woods, a temperate deciduous oak-hickory dominated forest, is reputed to be one of the largest and best remaining examples of the ancient forest of eastern North America that once covered Kentucky. The vegetation communities on the surface of the plateau include 84 tree varieties, 28 varieties of shrubs and vines, 29 types of fern, 209 wildflowers, 67 species of algae, 27 species of fungi and 7 species of bryophyte. This temperate deciduous oak-hickory forest is dominated by oaks including white, black and chestnut oaks and hickories including pignut and mockernut, with some beech, maples, tulip tree, ash and eastern red cedar.The troglodyte fauna includes several endangered species of blind fish, shrimp, bat and freshwater mussel.

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The special concern is the Kentucky cave shrimp, a freshwater species of uncertain status. The geological setting has contributed to the species richness of the area with the cave system being old enough to have viable communities of fauna from three karst regions within an area large enough for speciation to have occurred. Nowhere else do the blind fish and their spring-cave dwelling relative co-exist?

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Archaeological sites in the area show evidence of four pre-Columbian Indian cultures. Mammoth Cave has been important in the development of human culture, with four distinct cultural periods described: palaeo-Indian, Archaic, Woodland and Mississippian. The early Woodland culture is particularly important because it marked the independent development of organized horticulture in the Western Hemisphere, with primitive agriculture on river floodplains and was the period of the first exploration and mining in Mammoth Cave. Several mummies, sandals, campfire sites, bare foot prints have been found preserved in the stabilizing cave atmosphere.

However, the site does not include the entire river catchments of waters flowing through the site, so future disturbance is possible, particularly to the south and east of the park, where light industry is replacing agriculture. There are no permanent inhabitants in the core area. About 240 people live in the buffer zones with a further 1,500 in the transition area, including about 600 in Park City.

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The World Heritage Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The World Heritage Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most important natural area in the eastern United States and is of world importance as an example of temperate deciduous hardwood forest and thus an outstanding example of the diverse Arcto-Tertiary geoflora era, having a high number of temperate species with some rich mixed stands. During Pleistocene glaciation it was the major North American refuge for temperate and boreal species of flora and fauna, so has a large number of endemic species as well as an extremely rich species composition. With 130 species of tree, it has almost as many species as all of Europe. This has resulted in a rich vegetation mosaic. It harbours many endangered species of animals, and has possibly the greatest diversity of salamanders in the world; it is a centre of endemism for North American molluscs.

Continent: North America

Country: United States of America

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (VII)(VIII) (IX) (X)

Date of Inscription: 1983

Great Smoky Mountains Features

The dominant topographic feature of the park is the range of the Great Smoky Mountains with 16 peaks over 1,829m. Lesser ridges form radiating spurs from the central ridgeline. In broad aspect, the topography of the park consists of moderately sharp-crested, steep-sided ridges separated by deep V-shaped valleys. Many of the mountain ridges branch and subdivide creating a complex of drainage systems with many fast-flowing clear mountain streams. The park contains 22 major watersheds and the water table is near the surface in almost all sections. Precambrian metamorphic rocks consisting of gneisses and schists, and sedimentary rocks.

The vegetation changes continuously with elevation, slope aspect and soil moisture patterns. Five species are officially listed as endangered on the Fish and Wildlife Service List of Candidate Endangered Plants. A diverse fauna occurs including at least 50 native animals, reflecting the richness of the flora. Several species of bat and over 200 species of bird inhabit the park.

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Heavy precipitation and numerous streams make the mountains ideal for a wide variety of amphibian species; the park also contains a diversity of invertebrates, over 70 species of native fish, spiders, insects and other arthropods, and over 100 species of caddisfly and stonefly.

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Archaeological sites support the theory that prehistoric people (15,000 years ago) were hunters and gatherers. Present historical and cultural interpretation in the park is based mainly on the structures dating from the mid-1800s to 1920, including the finest collection of log buildings in the United States.

The park contains evidence of four pre-Columbian Indian cultures: Mississippian, Woodland, Archaic and palaeo-Indian. The early Woodland culture period is of special archaeological importance because it shows the first evidence of organized horticulture in North America, with primitive agriculture on river floodplains. These Indians used the caves for shelters and chipped gypsum and mirabilite off the walls: more than 150 archaeological sites have been identified within the national park. Saltpeter deposits were discovered on the cave walls and this valuable nitrate was removed and sent to be processed in gunpowder factories between 1809 and 1819. Three churches and 14 cemeteries still exist in the park and are used by the public.

There are no permanent inhabitants in the core area. About 240 people live in the buffer zones with a further 1,500 in the transition area. Only 25% of the population is considered urban and no significant increase in urbanization is expected in the near future. Most people are engaged in agriculture, tourism or service industries.

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Limestone Caves Carlsbad Caverns National Park

The more than 100 limestone caves within Carlsbad Caverns National Park are outstanding and notable world-wide because of their size, mode of origin, and the abundance, diversity and beauty of the speleothems (decorative rock formations) within. On-going geologic processes continue to form rare and unique speleothems, particularly in Lechuguilla Cave. Carlsbad Caverns and Lechuguilla Cave are well known for their great natural beauty, exceptional geologic features, and unique reef and rock formations. The Permian-aged Capitan Reef complex (in which Carlsbad Caverns, Lechuguilla and other caves formed) is one of the best preserved and most accessible complexes available for scientific study in the world.

Continent: North America

Country: United States of America

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VII)(VIII)

Date of Inscription: 1995

Karst Landscape

This karst landscape in the state of New Mexico comprises over 80 recognized caves. They are outstanding not only for their size but also for the profusion, diversity and beauty of their mineral formations. Lechuguilla Cave stands out from the others, providing an underground laboratory where geological and biological processes can be studied in a pristine setting. The park covers a segment of the Permian fossil Capitan Reef. An extensive cave system has developed within the reef as a result of sulphuric acid dissolution and of the 81 known caves, Carlsbad Cavern is the largest and Lechuguilla Cave is the most extensive and decorated cave in the world.

The Capitan Reef complex dates back to the Permian period, some 280-225 million years ago. The exposed sections of this reef lying within the park are among the best preserved in the world accessible for scientific study. Geologists are able to study the rock formations not only through cave passages which penetrate the reef but also in exposures uncovered through erosion. Fossils include bryozoans, pelecypods, gastropods, echinoderms, brachiopods, fusulinds, sponges, trilobites and algae. Above-ground vegetation communities range from desert to coniferous forest.

Limestone Caves

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Some 800 plant species have been identified, of which three are internationally threatened: Sneed pincushion cactus, Lee pincushion cactus and Lloyd's hedgehog cactus. The fauna inventory includes 64 mammals, 331 bird and 44 herpetofauna species.

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The caves are noted for their migratory bat species, especially the Mexican free-tailed bat. Various species of fungi and bacteria growing in the caves are of particular scientific and medical interest.t

Disturbances within the park include permanent damage incurred to speleothems and the cave ecosystem from tourism, decline in bat populations from the use of DDT as well as attempts to eradicate them in Mexico, oil and gas exploration, grazing by trespassing livestock, invasion by exotic fauna and the hunting of puma.

Carlsbad is radically different from the other existing World Heritage caves: Carlsbad Caverns National Park is distinguished by its huge chambers which are far larger than similar other as well as for its decorative mineral.

Since its initial exploration in 1985, Lechuguilla Cave has been strictly managed, allowing only closely monitored visits by researchers. This cave is particularly noteworthy as an underground laboratory where geological processes can be studied in a virtually undisturbed environment. The only threat that faces the park is oil and gas exploration near its borders.

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Volcanoes National Park Hawaii

Volcanoes National Park Hawaii, contains two of the most active volcanoes in the world, Mauna Loa and Kilauea both of which tower over the Pacific Ocean. Volcanic eruptions have created a constantly changing landscape, and the lava flows reveal surprising geological formations. Rare birds and endemic species can be found there, as well as forests of giant ferns. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park contains Mauna Loa and Kilauea, two of the world's most active and accessible volcanoes where on-going 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 relatively constant, dynamic change.

Continent: North America

Country: United States of America

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VIII)

Date of Inscription: 1987

Kilauea, the most active volcano in the world

The island Lies in the south-east part of the island of Hawaii (Big Island), the easternmost island of the State of Hawaii, and includes the summit and south-east slope of Mauna Loa and the summit and south-western, southern, and south-eastern slopes of the Kilauea Volcano. The park extends from the southern coast, with its volcanic sea cliff headlands to the summit calderas of Kilauea, the most active volcano in the world (with more than 50 recorded eruptions in the last 33 years up to 1985) and Mauna Loa volcanoes. The latter is a massive, flat-domed shield volcano built by lava flow layers and is considered to be the best example of its type in the world, extending from 5,581 m below sea level to 4,169 m above.

The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is greatest and the calderas of Kilauea are one of most studied in the world: in fact there is a geologic station dating from 1912. The climatic gradient varies with altitude from tropical humid to alpine desert.

Volcanoes National Park Hawaii

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The park contains a high diversity of plant communities with striking life-form and physiognomic differences; 23 distinct vegetation types have been described for the park, ranging from the very diverse tropical rainforest of 'Ola'a to the scrub and grassland of Ka'u and the alpine tundra of Mauna Loa, grouped into five major ecosystems: subalpine, montane seasonal, montane rainforest, submontane seasonal and coastal lowlands. The 'Ola'a Forest tract, over 4,000 ha in size, is probably the largest remaining tract of virgin ohia and fern forest in the Hawaiian Islands. The native flora numbering 41 species, with a further 40 listed as rare and warranting special attention.

The park is rich, in archaeological remains particularly along 'the coast with native villages, temples, graves, paved trails, canoe landings, petroglyphs, shelter caves and agricultural areas. Following the arrival of Captain James Cook in 1778-79, Christian influences started in or around 1823, with churches and schools built and the introduction of cattle, goat and pulu (tree-fern product) harvesting and the encouragement of visitors. Extensive ruins of stone structures dating back to the time of Pa'ao (a high priest) in 1275 are present.

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Like all natural areas in Hawaii, the park has been subject to considerable biological alteration since man's arrival. Direct removal or alteration of native forest for growing sugar and pineapple plantations, ranching and logging, has altered the native biota of the forest habitats, particularly at low and middle elevations. Except for a single species of bat Hawaiian hoary bat, native mammalian forms are absent. Little is known to date about invertebrate forms.

Avian forms present interesting and significant examples of adaptive radiation and of extinction. Most endemic avian species are rare or endangered. Ranching activities and the introduction of species such as the pig, goat and mongoose have had serious biological consequences, including destruction of native ecosystems and widespread extinction of endemic species. Pockets of standing water, created by the wallowing of the feral pigs, provide breeding places for mosquitoes, resulting in serious avian malaria.

The control programs undertaken on the basis of solid scientific research have been a model for removal of alien animals and plants (including illegal narcotics) on oceanic islands.

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The World Heritage Yosemite National Park

The World Heritage Yosemite National Park, on the west slope of the central Sierra Nevada Mountains, is an area of outstanding scenic beauty and great wilderness value. The park represents practically all the different environments found within the Sierra Nevada, including sequoia groves, historic resources, evidence of Indian habitation, and domes, valleys, polished granites and other geological features illustrating the formation of the mountain range.

Continent: North America

Country: United States of America

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VII)(VIII)

Date of Inscription: 1984

The Granite Park

The park is dominated by the Sierra Nevada, which is a tilted granite area. Granite underlies most of the park and is exposed as domes, partial domes, knobs and cliffs. There is exceptionally glaciated topography over most of the area including the spectacular Yosemite Valley, a 914 m deep cleft carved by glaciers through a gently rolling upland. The valley is a widened portion of the prevailing narrow Merced River canyon which traverses the southern sector of the park from east to west. The massive sheer granite walls present a freshly glaciated appearance with little postglacial erosion. The park is known for its many waterfalls, including the Yosemite Falls and Ribbon Falls, and some 300 lakes, including Emerald and Merced. Other notable canyons in the park are the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River and the Tenaya Canyon.

There are also two major rivers (Merced and Tuolumne). The area was previously heavily glaciated and, although no glaciers are still existent in the park, the marks of their passing are everywhere. Glacial action combined with the granitic bedrock has resulted in unique and pronounced landform features. These include distinctive polished dome structures as well as the related glacial features of hanging valleys, tarns, moraines and U-shaped valleys. Monolithic granitic blocks such as Half Dome and the perpendicular wall of El Capitan are classic distinctive reflections of the geological history of the area.

Yosemite National Park

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The variety of flora is reflected in the existence of six distinct vegetation zones which are governed by altitudinal variation. Notable are three groves of the giant sequoia tree and extensive alpine meadows. There are 1,200 species of flowering plant along with various other ferns, bryophytes and lichens. There is one endemic and eight threatened or endangered species of plant.

The park has 67 mammalian species, of which 32 are rodents, 221 species of bird, 18 reptile, 10 amphibian and 11 fish, of which 6 are endemic. One bird species (bald eagle) is endangered and the peregrine falcon is listed as vulnerable. A few non-native species have been accidentally introduced such as beaver and white-tailed ptarmigan. Bighorn sheep were declared extinct in Yosemite in 1914 but were reintroduced in 1986.

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There are 1,000 designated archaeological sites recorded by visitors, park staff and during systematic archaeological surveys. Yosemite is viewed as a boundary zone between the two major cultural provinces of Central California and the Great Basin. In late prehistoric and historic times Yosemite was occupied by two main tribes of North American Indians. There are 569 designated archaeological sites within the park.

Yosemite's natural beauty was the impetus, then, for the first implementation of the national park concept as we know it today. Adding to Yosemite's cultural importance are the archaeological features found in the area.

Much change has however occurred in the Yosemite landscape. Suppression of natural fires and heavy stock and sheep grazing in the past has also altered the original vegetation.

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The Nature beauty Grand Canyon National Park

The Nature beauty Grand Canyon National Park was created on 26 February 1919 by an act of Congress. First protected in 1893 as a forest reserve in which mining, lumbering and hunting continued to be allowed: upgraded to a game reserve in 1906, giving protection to the wildlife: redesignated a National Monument in 1908.The park is dominated by the spectacular Grand Canyon: a twisting, 1.5 km deep and 445.8 km long gorge, formed during some 6 million years of geological activity and erosion by the Colorado River on the raised Earth's crust (2.5 km above sea level). It divides the park into the North Rim and South Rim which overlook the 200 m to 30 km wide canyon; the buttes, spires, mesas and temples in the canyon are in fact mountains looked down upon from the rims.

Continent: North America

Country: United States of America

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VII)(VIII) (IX) (X)

Date of Inscription: 1979

Grand Canyon National Park Geological History

On-going erosion by the seasonal and permanent rivers produces impressive waterfalls and rapids of washed-down boulders along the length of the canyon and its tributaries. Exposed horizontal geological strata in the canyon span some 2,000 million years of geological history, providing evidence of the four major geological eras, early and late Precambrian, Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The early Precambrian strata, known as the Vishnu Schist formation, are devoid of fossils.

The first fossil evidence appears in the late Precambrian Bass Limestone with remains of early plant forms. Subsequent strata dating from the Palaeozoic era catalogue the sequence of local history, with both marine and terrestrial fossils demonstrating the periods in the distant past when the whole region was alternately submerged and raised. The Mesozoic era is less well illustrated within the park, but tracks made by early reptiles are found to the east in the Navajo Indian reservation. They are a few fossil remains of mammals from the early Cenozoic.

Grand Canyon National Park

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Altitudinal range provides a variety of climates and habitats, ranging from desert to mountain conditions. The canyon is a vast biological museum stretching through five different life and vegetation zones: Hudsonian on the North Rim plateau with Colorado blue spruce and Rocky Mountain maple; Canadian near the North Rim, with aspen and Ponderosa and forests of Douglas fir, white fir and aspen at 2,500 m; high-altitude Transition (Ponderosa) forests of Pinus ponderosa and gambel oak; upper Sonoran on and below the South Rim with Utah juniper, pinon pine and sagebrush; and the Lower Sonoran down the canyon and at the bottom (desert cacti, rabbitbrush, mesquite, Morman tea and Manzanita).

Over 1,000 plant species have so far been identified from the park. There are 11 plant species listed as threatened in the United States statutes in the park, including Palmer amsonia, goldenweed, plains cactus, scouler catchfly, wild buckwheats, primrose and clute penstemon. In addition, 15 plant species are recommended for consideration as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

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Concerning the fauna, 76 mammal, 299 bird and 41 reptile and amphibian species have been identified from the park and some 16 fish species inhabit the Colorado River and its tributaries. Rare or threatened birds are listed under the United States Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The park contains more than 2,600 documented prehistoric ruins, including evidence of Archaic cultures (the earliest known inhabitants), Cohonina Indians along the South Rim, and Anasazi Indians on both the South Rim, North Rim, and within the Inner Canyon. Hualapai and Havasupai Indians moved into the canyons at this time, where they remained undisturbed until the Anglo-Americans arrived in 1860. Archaeological remains show the adaptation of human societies to severe climate and physiographic environment.

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World Heritage Yellowstone National Park

World Heritage Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872, covers 9,000 km2 of a vast natural forest of the southern Rocky Mountains in the North American west. It boasts an impressive array of geothermal phenomena, with more than 3,000 geysers, lava formations, fumaroles, hot springs and waterfalls, lakes and canyons. It is equally known for its wildlife: grizzly bears, bison, wolves and wapiti, North American elk. The park is part of the most seismically active region of the Rocky Mountains, a volcanic 'hot spot'. The Yellowstone Plateau, now a forested area of 650,000 ha with an average elevation of 2,000 m, was formed out of the accumulation of rhyolite magma.

Continent: North America

Country: United States of America

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VII)(VIII) (IX) (X)

Date of Inscription: 1978

Rocky Mountains

The plateau is flanked on the north, east and south by mountains that rise to 4,000 m. Crustal uplifts 65 million years ago rose blocks of crust to form the southern Rocky Mountains. After that, volcanic outflows of andesitic composition were common to about 40 million years ago. Andesitic ashflows and mudflows of the Eocene age covered forests, which became petrified. Some 200 species of petrified plant have been found. A more recent period of rhyolitic volcanism began in the region about 2 million years ago, during which time thousands of cubic kilometres of rhyolitic magma filled immense chambers under the plateau and then erupted to the surface.

Three cycles of eruption produced huge explosive outbursts of ash. The latest eruptive cycle formed a caldera 45 km wide and 75 km long, when the active magma chambers erupted and collapsed. The crystallizing magma is the source of heat for hydrothermal features such as geysers, hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles.

Yellowstone National Park

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Yellowstone contains 200-250 active geysers and perhaps 10,000 thermal features. Most of the area was glaciated during the Pleistocene and many glacial features remain. The park lies at the headwaters of three major rivers. Yellowstone River is a major tributary of the Missouri River that flows via the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. Firehole and Gibbon rivers unite to form the Madison, which also joins the Missouri. Snake River arises near the park's south boundary and joins the Columbia to flow into the Pacific. Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake at high elevation (2,357 m) in North America. Lower Yellowstone Falls is the highest of more than 40 named waterfalls in the park.

The park is dominated by lodgepole pine. Great elevational differences produce a range of plant communities, from semi-arid steppe to alpine tundra. There are seven species of coniferous tree and some 1,100 species of vascular plant growing in the park, including an endemic grass. The thermal areas contain unique assemblages of thermal algae and bacteria.

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Six species of ungulate are native to the park. Grizzly bear has been the subject of intensive study and management for 30 years. There are currently some 50 breeding females and 150 cubs have been born in the last three years. Native fishes are protected by regulations that also permit the taking of non-native introduced species.

Palaeontological study of Lamar Cave has yielded remains of over 30 species of mammal. This suggests a diversity of fauna in prehistoric times much like that found in Yellowstone today. Archaeological investigations of numerous important sites show that human groups visited the park area for 10,000 years, but none made it a permanent home.

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Mesa Verde National Park Heritage

Mesa Verde National Park is among the American Indian civilizations recognized by ethnologists and prehistorians, that of the Anasazi Indians and of their distant descendants, the Pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona are indeed quite original, owing in part to the substantial rigours of their natural environment: the south-western part of Colorado with its mesas cut by deep canyons. On the high limestone and sandstone plateau, which in one place reaches an altitude of 2,620 m above sea level, the climate is semi-arid, being characterized by irregular precipitation and great differences between day and night temperature. The first signs of regular human occupation go back to the 6th century of the current era. They are principally located on the plateau where partially buried villages, consisting of silos and low dwellings, have existed since this period. Original handicrafts, in which the production of yucca fibre objects play a major role, was to remain characteristic of Anasazi civilization for seven centuries.

Continent: North America

Country: United States of America

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (III)

Date of Inscription: 1978

Rock shelters

From roughly 750 to 1100 some highly specific features appeared in the human settlements of Mesa Verde. While the plateau villages were increasingly built in an L- or U-shaped layout, the valley villages grew larger. In rock shelters under the refuge of imposing overhanging cliffs, on the side of cuestas deeply lacerated by erosion, composite, both troglodytic and built villages were established having various functions: agricultural, handicrafts or religious - the first kivas (subterranean or buried structures of a subcircular layout) appeared during this period.

This civilization reached its apogee between 1100 and the end of the 13th century before suddenly disappearing. Impressive, multi-storey constructions (the best-known being 'Cliff Palace' and 'Long House', with its 181 rooms and 15 kivas) were erected under the shelter of the cliffs. They are demonstrative of surprising progress in building techniques and a very keen sense for use of space. At the same time, agrarian techniques were improved: irrigation, based on a network of reservoirs and dams, was used to offset the rigours of a climate largely hostile to the cultivation of cereals and starches, staples of the Anasazi diet. This 'golden age', facilitated by control of the natural environment, is further illustrated by the outstanding quality of the handicrafts. As the first explorers of Mesa Verde claimed on many an occasion, the wickerwork, weaving and especially ceramics were of astonishing quality.

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Discovered in 1874, the rock-cut villages of Mesa Verde were pillaged by collectors (there was a very large pottery sale in 1889) before being studied and excavated by archaeologists. However, the protection of the site which came into effect in 1906 under the Federal Antiquities Act is one of the most effective and long-standing on the American continent.

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