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San Antonio Missions, Texas - Distinguished by UNESCO in 2015, this site encompasses a group of five frontier mission complexes built by Franciscan missionaries in the 18th century. The buildings are clustered along a stretch of the San Antonio River basin.

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San Antonio Missions, Texas - The site includes architectural and archaeological structures, residencies, churches, and granaries, all of which stand in remarkable condition.

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Glacier Bay, Alaska, with Yukon, British Columbia (Canada) - One of two transboundary sites shared with Canada, this stunningly beautiful and pristine site comprises the world’s largest non-polar ice field and some of the world’s longest glaciers.

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Glacier Bay, Alaska, with Yukon, British Columbia (Canada) - UNESCO also describes the region as a natural habitat for wildlife, particularly for grizzly bears, caribou, Dall sheep (a subspecies native to North America), and every species of Alaskan salmon.

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Chaco Culture National Historic Park, New Mexico - Once a major center for the ancient Pueblo peoples, the park preserves one of the country’s most important pre-Columbian cultural and historical areas.

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Chaco Culture National Historic Park, New Mexico - The evocative ruins, which date from between the 10th and 12th centuries, are the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos (villages) in the American Southwest.

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Everglades National Park, Florida - Added to the list in 1979 but later placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2010 due to a worrying loss of marine habitat and decline in marine species, the park nonetheless remains the largest designated tropical wilderness reserve in North America.

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Everglades National Park, Florida - The reserve is renowned as a sanctuary for an extraordinary variety of birds, reptiles, and several threatened or protected species.

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Statue of Liberty, New York - Declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, the statue – one of the most recognized monuments in the world – was a gift to the United States from the people of France.

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Statue of Liberty, New York - Designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904) and built by Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923), the iconic structure was dedicated in 1886.

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Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky -

Its vast, cathedral-like chambers and complex series of tunnels and labyrinths has earned this cave system its titular name – Mammoth.

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Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky - With over 390 miles of passageways, this is the longest cave system known in the world. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.

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Independence Hall, Pennsylvania - This revered Philadelphia landmark was designed by Andrew Hamilton (1676–1741) and completed in 1753.

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Independence Hall, Pennsylvania - It marks the site of the Second Continental Congress during which the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. The room this historic document was drawn up in has been carefully preserved for posterity.

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Olympic National Park, Washington - UNESCO declared this park a World Heritage Site in 1981 due to its outstanding diversity of ecosystems and varied topography.

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Olympic National Park, Washington - The park boasts four very distinctive regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west side temperate rain forest, and the forests of the drier east side.

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Cahokia, Illinois - Sited in St. Clair County, this site once constituted the largest and most influential urban settlement in the Mississippian culture, a mound-building Native American civilization.

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Cahokia, Illinois - Active between the 7th and 15th centuries, the Mississippian culture developed advanced societies across much of what is now the Southeastern United States.

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Monticello and the University of Virginia, Virginia - Monticello was the home of Thomas Jefferson, who also designed the early buildings that made up the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

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Monticello and the University of Virginia, Virginia - The standout structure among these 18th- and 19th-century buildings is The Rotunda, a half-scale model of the Pantheon in Rome.

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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho - One of the country’s great natural wonders, the park contains half of the world’s geothermal features including over 300 geysers. It’s also celebrated for its profusion of flora and fauna.

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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho - Distinguished as the first National Park in the United States, and the world, Yellowstone was recognized by UNESCO in 1978, one of the first World Heritage Sites established in North America.

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Taos Pueblo, New Mexico - Sited one mile north of the modern city of Taos, this cluster of ancient pueblo adobe dwellings was constructed in the 13th and 14th centuries. The pueblo was declared a World Heritage Site in 1992.

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Taos Pueblo, New Mexico - About 150 people live in the historic complex full-time. Interestingly, the north-side pueblo is believed to be one of the most photographed and painted structures in North America.

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Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii -

Offering a compelling insight into the birth of the Hawaiian Islands, the two volcanoes located on the island of Hawaii, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, are among the most active in the world.

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Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii - The dramatic volcanic landscape is constantly shifting and provides visitors to the park with a rare opportunity to witness Mother Nature at her bubbling, burping and lava-spewing best.

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Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point, Louisiana - Set over the state’s West Carroll Parish, the vast prehistoric earthworks of the Poverty Point culture, the indigenous peoples who inhabited the region from about 2200 BC–700 BC, offer a fascinating glimpse into how a society could so totally transform a landscape.

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Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point, Louisiana - Poverty Point may well be the largest hunter-gatherer settlement that has ever existed, though the original purposes of the earthworks have not been determined by archaeologists.

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Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado - Perhaps the most intriguing of the communities attributed to the Pueblo peoples, the cliff dwellings located in Montezuma County were carved out of sandstone between the 6th and 12th centuries.

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Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado -

Around 600 houses built in alcoves and rock overhangs line a canyon at heights in excess of 8,500 ft. Notable examples include Cliff Palace – the largest cliff dwelling in North America! Listed by UNESCO in 1978, this is one of the first World Heritage Sites declared in the US.

See also: World Heritage sites that could disappear at any time

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