Heritage with Related Tags
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal is a magnificent construction of the early 19th century, covering the Rideau and Cataraqui Rivers, stretching 202 kilometers from Ottawa south to the port of Kingston on Lake Ontario. It was built primarily for strategic military purposes, as Britain and the United States competed for control of the region. The canal was one of the first canals designed for steam-powered ships and also featured a series of fortifications. It is the best-preserved still-water canal in North America, demonstrating the large-scale application of this European technology. It is the only canal from the early 19th century North American canal-building era to remain on its original route, with much of its structure intact.
Old Town Lunenburg
Lunenburg is the most complete surviving British colonial plan in North America. Founded in 1753, the city retains its original layout and overall appearance, based on a rectangular grid pattern developed in England. Over the centuries, residents have worked to preserve the city's character, retaining the wooden architecture of the houses, some of which date back to the 18th century.
Verla Groundwood and Board Mill
The Verla Groundwood and Board Mill and its associated residential complex is an outstanding and well-preserved example of a small rural industrial settlement associated with pulp, paper and board production that flourished in northern Europe and North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Very few such settlements still survive today.
Völklingen Ironworks
The ironworks, covering approximately six hectares, is a landmark of the city of Völklingen. Although production has recently ceased, it is the only integrated ironworks built and equipped in the 19th and 20th centuries that has been preserved intact in Western Europe and North America.
L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site
At the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, remains of an 11th-century Viking settlement provide evidence of the first European presence in North America. Excavated remains of timber-framed peat-turf buildings are similar to those found in Greenland and Iceland in northern Europe.
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro is the Royal Inland Route, also known as the Silver Route. The inscribed properties include 55 sites and 5 existing World Heritage sites located on a 1,400-kilometer section of the 2,600-kilometer route, which stretches from Mexico City northwards to the U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico. The route was actively used as a trade route for 300 years, from the mid-16th century to the 19th century, mainly for the transportation of silver from the mines of Zacatecas, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí, as well as mercury imported from Europe. Although the route was driven and consolidated by the mining industry, it also facilitated the establishment of social, cultural and religious links, especially between Spanish and Amerindian cultures.
Bikini Atoll Nuclear Test Site
After the Second World War, the United States decided to resume nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific, a move that was closely linked to the beginning of the Cold War. The local population was forcibly displaced, and from 1946 to 1958, the United States conducted 67 nuclear tests, including the explosion of the first hydrogen bomb (1952). Bikini Atoll preserves direct tangible evidence that is important in conveying the power of nuclear tests, namely the shipwrecks that sank to the bottom of the lagoon during the 1946 tests and the huge Bravo Crater. These tests, with a power equivalent to 7,000 times that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, had a significant impact on the geology and natural environment of Bikini Atoll and on the health of those exposed to radiation. Although the atoll gives a paradoxical impression of peace and paradise on earth, historically it symbolizes the advent of the nuclear age. This is the first site in the Marshall Islands to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek
These parks consist of impressive glaciers and high peaks, and are located on both sides of the border between Canada (Yukon and British Columbia) and the United States (Alaska). The spectacular natural landscape is home to many grizzly bears, caribou, and white bighorn sheep. The site contains the largest non-polar ice field in the world.
Redwood National and State Parks
Located north of San Francisco, Redwood National Park consists of the coastal mountains along the Pacific Ocean. The park is covered with magnificent coastal redwood forests, which are some of the tallest and most majestic trees in the world. The park's marine and terrestrial life is equally noteworthy, especially sea lions, bald eagles, and the endangered California brown pelican.
Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa
The Potala Palace has been the winter palace of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century AD, symbolizing Tibetan Buddhism and its central role in traditional Tibetan rule. The complex consists of the White Palace, the Red Palace and its ancillary buildings, built on the Red Mountain in the center of the Lhasa Valley, at an altitude of 3,700 meters. The Jokhang Temple, also built in the 7th century AD, is a unique Buddhist religious complex. The Norbulingka, the former summer palace of the Dalai Lama, was built in the 18th century and is a masterpiece of Tibetan art. The beautiful and original architecture of these three sites, with rich decorations, blends in with the magnificent scenery, adding to their historical and religious significance.