The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has identified 582 World Heritage sites that it considers of “outstanding universal value.”In the United States, there are 22 of these sites; the 16 that are natural sites are listed below.

 Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois: Between A.D. 900 and 1500, the Cahokia site was the regional center for the Mississippian Indian culture. Named for the Cahokia Indians who came after them, Cahokia features the largest prehistoric earthen constructions in the Americas, a testament to the skillful engineering skills of Mississippian culture.

 Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico: Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a network of more than 80 limestone caves, including the nation's deepest—487 meters—and third longest. The Lechuguilla Cave is particularly noteworthy for its beautiful stalagtites and stalagmites.

 Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico: Between A.D. 900 and 1100, the Anasazi built large multistory stone villages and a 640-meter road system in Chaco canyon showing their engineering and construction talents.

 Everglades National Park, Florida: The Everglades, or “River of Grass” as the Seminoles called it, is formed by a river of fresh water 18.2 centimeters deep and 80 meters wide that flows slowly across the expanse of land of sawgrass marshes, pine forests, and mangrove islands. More than 300 species of birds live in the park as well as alligators and Florida panthers.

Mississippian

密西西比河的

prehistoric

史前的

limestone

石灰石

stalagtite

钟乳石

stalagmite

石笋

everglade

湿地

alligator

鳄鱼

panther

豹

 Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska: The park is made up of a huge chain of great tidewater glaciers and a dramatic range of landscapes, from rocky terrain recently covered by ice to lush temperate rain forest. Brown and black bears, mountain goats, whales (including humpbacks), seals, and eagles can be found within the park.

 Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona: The Grand Canyon is among Earth's greatest ongoing geological spectacles. About 65 million years ago in Earth's shifting, a huge area of land was lifted a mile and a half above sea level, forming what is now the Colorado Plateau. For the last 6 to 10 million years, the Colorado River has been slowly carving its way down through the center, exposing the many colorful strata of rock.

 Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina/Tennessee: “Place of Blue Smoke” was the name given by the Cherokee Indians to these Appalachian Highlands. The forest here sends out water vapor and oily residues which create a smoke-like fog that surrounds the peaks and fills the valleys. The park is one of the world's finest temperate deciduous forests.

 Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii: It is thought that the Hawaiian islands were created when molten rock pushed through Earth's crust, forming volcanoes. The two most spectacular live volcanoes are Kilauea and Mauna Loa.

glacier

冰山

dramatic

生动的

humpback

座头鲸

plateau

高原

vapor

蒸汽

residue

渣滓

deciduous forest

落叶林

volcano

火山

 Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky: Mammoth Cave, as its name suggests, is the world's most extensive cave system, with 552 meters of passages. Water seeping into the cave creates stalactites, stalagmites, and white gypsum crystal formations. Rare and unusual animals, such as blind fish and colorless spiders, are a result of adaptation to the absolute blackness and isolation.

 Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado: In the sixth century, the Anasazi, or “Ancient Ones,” established villages on the high, flat land in southwestern Colorado. In the late 1100s they began constructing multistory stone apartment houses, tucked on ledges and under rock overhangs.

 Olympic National Park, Washington: The park boasts not only snow-capped Mount Olympus, glaciers, alpine meadows, and rocky Pacific Mountain coastline, but also one of the few temperate rain forests in the world. The lush forest is created by the warm, moisture-laden air from the Pacific meeting the mountains, resulting in a dense, green, jungle-like world.

 Redwood National Park, California: Redwood National Park contains the tallest living things on Earth, evergreen trees that grow to 106 meters. Descendants of the giant evergreens that grew during the age of the dinosaurs, redwoods take 400 years to mature. Some of the survivors are more than 2,000 years old.

seep

渗透

tuck

藏

alpine meadow

高山草甸

jungle

丛林

descendant

后代

dinosaur

恐龙

redwood

红杉

 Taos Pueblo, New Mexico: Pueblo de Taos is thought to have appeared before A.D. 1400 and is the best preserved of the pueblos (communal housing) north of the border. Taos is a remarkable example of a traditional type of architectural ensemble from the pre-Hispanic period of the Americas and is unique to this region. Today Taos is inhabited by the Taos Pueblo Indians, and it is still an active community.

 Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Montana: The two parks sustain a diverse habitat, including wolves, bears, and mountain lions. It also features a wide variety of wild flowers and wildlife, including bighorn sheep and bald eagles.

 Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska: The park is made up of giant icefields and about 2,000 glaciers that have created a sculpted landscape of valleys, peaks, and lakes. This premier wilderness contains extensive bird, animal, and marine mammal habitats where trumpeter swans, bisons, and sea lions dwell.

 Yosemite National Park, California: Yosemite, located in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, contains breathtaking views of rugged scenery and a huge variety of plant and animal life. During the last Ice Age the granite bedrock was gouged and shaped into bare peaks, sheer cliffs, rounded domes, and huge monoliths.

pueblo

印第安村落

inhabit

居住

bison

野牛

rugged

崎岖的

granite

花岗岩

dome

圆屋顶

monolith

巨石