List of World Heritage Sites in North America


Below is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in upper North America. Greenland has been included here as part of North America despite its cultural and political associations with Europe. The separate List of World Heritage Sites in Central America covers the continental areas further south. Mexico leads North America hosting 35 sites, and is ranked seventh in the world.

World Heritage Sites

Legend

Endangered and trans-border sites

Additional information

List

SiteImageLocationCriteriaArea
ha 		YearDescriptionRefs
20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd WrightCultural:
2019This listing consists of eight buildings designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, "reflecting the 'organic architecture' developed by Wright, which includes an open plan, a blurring of the boundaries between exterior and interior and the unprecedented use of materials such as steel and concrete." Wright's work influenced architecture internationally.
Aasivissuit – Nipisat. Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and SeaCultural:
2018Located inside the Arctic Circle in the central part of West Greenland, the site contains the remains of 4,200 years of human history. It is a cultural landscape which bears witness to its creators’ hunting of land and sea animals, seasonal migrations and a rich and well-preserved tangible and intangible cultural heritage linked to climate, navigation and medicine. The features of the site include large winter houses and evidence of caribou hunting, as well as archaeological sites from Paleo-Inuit and Inuit cultures. The cultural landscape includes seven key localities, from Nipisat in the west to Aasivissuit, near the ice-cap in the east. It bears testimony to the resilience of the human cultures of the region and their traditions of seasonal migration.
Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of TequilaCultural:
,,, 		; buffer zone 2006The site consists of a living, working landscape of blue agave fields and distilleries in Tequila, El Arenal and Amatitán where tequila is produced. It reflects more than 2,000 years of commercial use of the agave plant.
Mixed:
,,,,, 		; buffer zone 2002Calakmul is an important Maya site with a number of well-preserved monuments that bear testimony to twelve centuries of Maya cultural and political development.
Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic SystemCultural:
,, 		; buffer zone 2015Constructed between 1553 and 1570, the aqueduct is 45 kilometres long. It passes mostly at ground level, but also went underground as well as over ravines and valleys.
MexicoMiacatlán, Morelos

Cultural:
, 		1999Xochicalco is a well-preserved example of a fortified settlement from the epiclassical period, the time at which earlier powers such as Teotihuacan ceased to exist and cultural re-grouping took place.
Cultural:
, 		—1998The adobe architecture of Paquimé Casas Grandes bear testimony to a pre-Hispanic culture in northern Mexico located between the Pueblo culture and more advanced Mesoamerican civilizations.
Natural:
,, 		2016Four islands with a population of 45. Located in the Pacific Ocean, they are known for their unique ecosystem.
Cahokia Mounds State Historic SiteUnited StatesIllinois,

Cultural:
, 		—1982The ancient city of Cahokia was the cultural, religious, and economic centre of the Mississippian culture. It was the earliest and largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico.
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
Cultural:
, 		; buffer zone 2010The site consists of a long section of a long trade route that was used from the mid-16th to 19th century to transport mainly silver from mines in northern Mexico and mercury imported from Europe. In addition to the road, associated properties such as five urban centres that have been designated separately as World Heritage Sites, religious and other buildings are included in the nomination.
Canadian Rocky Mountain ParksCanadaAlberta and British Columbia,

Natural:
, 		1984
With high peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves, the national parks that make up this site exemplify the exceptional features of the Rocky Mountains. Furthermore, one of the world's most celebrated fossil fields, the Burgess Shale Formation is located within the inscribed property.
Carlsbad Caverns National ParkUnited StatesNew Mexico,

Natural:
, 		1995More than 80 limestone caves notable for their size and decorative rock formations, some of which are assisted by bacteria, are included in the property. Their ease of access facilitates scientific research.
Cultural:
,, 		; buffer zone 2007Built from 1949 and 1952 by more than 60 architects, the buildings, open spaces and sports facilities combine modern architecture with references to local pre-Hispanic traditions. They showcase universal ideals such as access to education and improvement in the quality of life that were prevalent in post-revolutionary Mexico.
Chaco CultureUnited StatesNew Mexico,

Cultural:
—1987Notable for its monumental buildings, the site bears testimony to a Pueblo culture that dominated large parts of present-day south-western United States from the mid-9th to early 13th centuries.
Dinosaur Provincial ParkCanadaAlberta,

Natural:
, 		1979The park is noted for the beauty of its badland landscape and as a major fossil site. Specimens of every group of cretaceous dinosaurs have been found here including those of 35 species dating more than 75 Million years ago.
Cultural:
, 		—1994The site comprises 14 monasteries built by Augustinians, Franciscans and Dominicans near Popocatépetl volcano. Stylistically they are characterized by an emphasize on open spaces, a concept that influenced architecture in Mexico and beyond.
Natural:
,, 		; buffer zone ;2013The 714,566-hectare site comprises two distinct parts: the dormant volcanic Pinacate Shield of black and red lava flows and desert pavements to the east, and, in the west, the Gran Altar Desert with its ever-changing and varied sand dunes that can reach a height of 200 metres. This landscape of dramatic contrast notably features linear, star and dome dunes as well as several arid granite massifs, some as high as 650 metres.
Cultural:
, 		—1992Flourishing from the early 9th to early 13th century, El Tajin is the prime site of the period between the Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan empires.
Everglades National Park†United StatesFlorida,

Natural:
,, 		1979The vast wetlands and coastal/marine habitats of the park have made it a sanctuary for many animals including 20 rare, endangered and threatened species such as the Florida panther and the manatee. The site has been endangered from 1993–2007 following damage due to Hurricane Andrew and since 2010 due to continued degradation and a loss of marine habitat.

Cultural:
, 		2003These five missions were built jointly with the indios towards the final phase of Christianization of Mexico in the mid-18th century. They played an important role in the further evangalization of California, Arizona and Texas.
Grand Canyon National ParkUnited StatesArizona,

Natural:
,,, 		1979Plunging down to the Colorado River, it is one of the world's most spectacular gorges. In addition the varying elevations of the canyon walls have created diverse ecosystems for numerous endemic, rare and endangered species. The river's erosion has exposed soils from the Precambrian to the Cenozoic often including a rich fossil assembly.
Great Smoky Mountains National ParkUnited StatesTennessee and North Carolina,

Natural:
,,, 		1983With more than 3,500 plant species, the park is among the largest remnants of Arcto-Tertiary Geoflora. It is also home to the world's largest number of salamander species and famous for its mist-shrouded virgin forests.
Gros Morne National ParkCanadaNewfoundland and Labrador,

Natural:
, 		1987With deep ocean crust and rocks of the earth's mantle lying exposed, the park illustrates continental drift. Landlocked freshwater fjords, glacier-scoured headlands in an ocean setting contribute to the natural beauty of this wilderness area.
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo JumpCanadaAlberta

Cultural:
—1981The property consists of remains of a camp, of trails and a tumulus of bones of the American bison bearing testimony to nearly 6000 years of communal hunting in which the bisons were driven over a cliff, a practice known as buffalo jump.
BermudaSt. George
,
Cultural:
2000The oldest English town in the New World, St George's fortifications bear testimony to the development of English military architecture from the 17th to 20th centuries.
Cultural:
,,, 		—1987Mexico City, built in the 16th century on the ruins of Tenochtitlan preserves Aztec ruins, the largest cathedral in the Americas and 19th/20th century public architecture. Xochimilco is characterized by a network of canals and artificial islands built in pre-Hispanic times.
Cultural:
,, 		1991Built in the 16th century, Morelia still shows the original street layout and has more than 200 historic buildings constructed of locally available pink stone in a style fusing elements of renaissance, baroque and neo-classicism.
Cultural:
,,, 		; buffer zone 1987The site includes the pre-Columbian ceremonial site Monte Albán occupied during a 1500-year period by Olmecs, Zapotecs and Mixtecs, the colonial town Oaxaca founded in 1529 and the originally Mixtec settlement Cuilapan where Dominicans established a major monastery in the mid-16th century.
Cultural:
, 		1987Puebla has preserved all of its ancient buildings, its 16th century cathedral and the largely episcopal palace, also hosts houses with walls covered in talavera azulejos tiles, a local tradition since colonial times.
Cultural:
, 		1993Zacatecas prospered as a center of silver production in the 16th and 17th centuries. The designated property comprises religious and secular buildings with most of them dating to the 17th and 18th centuries.
CanadaQuebec City, Quebec

Cultural:
, 		—1985Founded by the French in the 17th century, the urban ensemble of Old Québec is the most complete example of a European fortified town north of Mexico.
Cultural:
, 		1999Campeche is a typical example of a Baroque Spanish colonial town with a grid layout. Its fortifications built in the 17th and 18th centuries as defense against pirates are an excellent example of military architecture of the time.
Cultural:
, 		—1996Querétaro has preserved many of its buildings from the 17th and 18th century and is exceptional for its street plan which has both, the grid plan typical of Spanish colonial towns and twisting alleys in the Indian quarters.
Cultural:
, 		—1998The layout and architecture of the property is an exceptionally well-preserved example of Spanish-Caribbean fusion and is characterised by wide streets, low houses in a variety of styles and colors, and many trees.
Cultural:
,,, 		1988The prosperity of the town as the largest silver producer in the 18th century is reflected in beautiful Baroque and neo-classical buildings.
Hospicio Cabañas, GuadalajaraCultural:
,,, 		—1997The early 19th century Hospicio is one of the earliest hospital complexes in Spanish America. Its architecture, designed with this purpose in mind, contains several unique features and is notable for the size, simplicity and relationship between open and built spaces. A series of murals by José Clemente Orozco is located within the complex.
Ilulissat IcefjordDenmarkIlulissat, western,

Natural:
, 		2004The Jakobshavn Glacier, calves into the Ilulissat fjord is one of the most active glaciers moving at 19 metres/day and accounting for 10% of the Greenlandish calf ice. Similar phenomena exist in Antarctica, however its relative ease of access for scientists and visitors makes it unique in the world.
Independence HallUnited StatesPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania,

Cultural:
—1979Both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were signed in this building. Concepts of freedom and democracy set forth in these documents have influenced charters of many countries and the UN charter.
†
Natural:
,, 		—2005
The property has marine and insular habitats including bridge islands and oceanic islands. It constitutes a unique ecoregion of exceptional biodiversity with 695 species of plant, 891 species of fish, 39 percent of the world's marine mammal species, and a large number of bird species. The site was added to the List of World Heritage in Danger because of the imminent extinction of the vaquita, an endemic porpoise in the gulf.
Joggins Fossil CliffsCanadaNova Scotia

Natural:
; buffer zone 2008This paleontological site contains the most complete terrestrial fossil record of the Carboniferous period including tracks of early animals and of the rainforest they lived in.
Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-AlsekCanadaBritish Columbia and Yukon, *;
Alaska, *
Natural:
,,, 		1979
These parks comprise the world's largest non-polar icefield, some of the largest glaciers and a tectonically active mountain landscape. They are home to a number of species endangered elsewhere such as bears, wolves, caribou and Dall sheep.

Kujataa Greenland: Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice CapCultural:
2017Kujataa is a subarctic farming landscape located in the southern region of Greenland. It bears witness to the cultural histories of the Norse farmer-hunters who started arriving from Iceland in the 10th century and of the Inuit hunters and Inuit farming communities that developed from the end of the 18th century. Despite their differences, the two cultures, European Norse and Inuit, created a cultural landscape based on farming, grazing and marine mammal hunting. The landscape represents the earliest introduction of farming to the Arctic, and the Norse expansion of settlement beyond Europe.
La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto RicoUnited StatesSan Juan, Puerto Rico,

Cultural:
—1983Puerto Rico was of prime strategic importance during the American colonial period illustrated by the fortifications built between the 15th and 19th century to protect the harbour of San Juan.
Landscape of Grand PréCanadaNova Scotia,

Cultural:
, 		2012Site to commemorate the Grand-Pré area of Nova Scotia as a centre of Acadian settlement from 1682 to 1755, and the British deportation of the Acadians that happened during the French and Indian War.
L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic SiteCanadaNewfoundland and Labrador

Cultural:
—1978These remains of an 11th-century Viking settlement are the first and only known site of Norse presence and the earliest known European settlement in America outside of Greenland.
Luis Barragán House and StudioCultural:
, 		; buffer zone 2004Built in 1948, the house and studio of Mexican architect Luis Barragán combines traditional and modern influences and is considered a masterpiece of the Modern Movement.
Mammoth Cave National ParkUnited StatesKentucky,

Natural:
,, 		1981The longest cave system known in the world.
Mesa Verde National ParkUnited StatesColorado,

Cultural:
—1978Protects some of the best preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the U.S. Starting circa 7500 BC, Mesa Verde was seasonally inhabited by a group of nomadic Paleo-Indians known as the Foothills Mountain Complex. The variety of projectile points found in the region indicates they were influenced by surrounding areas, including the Great Basin, the San Juan Basin, and the Rio Grande Valley. Later, Archaic people established semi-permanent rockshelters in and around the mesa.
Miguasha National ParkCanadaGaspé Peninsula, Quebec

Natural:
1999Protects thousands of fossils in eastern Quebec that are 350 to 375 million years old.
Mistaken PointCanadaNewfoundland and Labrador

Natural:
2016Area around the Mistaken Point Formation: protection of Ediacaran fossils representing the oldest multicellular life on Earth.
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere ReserveNatural:
; buffer zone 2008Site containing most of the over-wintering sites of the eastern population of the monarch butterfly. The reserve is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests ecoregion on the border of Michoacán and State of Mexico, 100 km, northwest of Mexico City.
Monticello and the University of Virginia in CharlottesvilleUnited StatesVirginia,

Cultural:
,, 		—1987Built between 1769 and 1809, Monticello was the plantation home of its designer, third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson designed the early buildings that made up the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, inspired by his new ideas of university planning. The most prominent of these, The Rotunda, is a half-scale model of the Pantheon in Rome.
Pimachiowin AkiCultural:
,, 		; buffer zone 2018
Monumental Earthworks of Poverty PointUnited StatesLouisiana,

Cultural:
2014Comprises several earthworks and mounds, built between 1650 and 700 BC during the archaic period in North America, by a group of Native Americans of the Poverty Point culture. The culture extended across the Mississippi Delta.
Nahanni National ParkCanadaNorthwest Territories

Natural:
, 		1978Protects a portion of the Mackenzie Mountains and four canyons reaching in depth.
CanadaNova Scotia

Cultural:
, 		—1995The town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia intended to displace Mi'kmaq and Acadian Catholics. It was founded during Father Le Loutre's War on Mahone Bay.
Olympic National ParkUnited StatesWashington,

Natural:
, 		1981Located on the Olympic Peninsula, the park has four basic regions: the Pacific coastline, alpine areas, the west side temperate rainforest and the forests of the drier east side.
Cultural:
,,, 		—1987
Cultural:
,, 		—1988
Cultural:
,,,, 		—1987
Cultural:
,, 		—1996
Cultural:
; buffer zone 2010
Cultural:
, 		; buffer zone 2008
Pueblo de TaosUnited StatesNew Mexico,

Cultural:
—1992
Red Bay Basque Whaling StationCanadaNewfoundland and Labrador

Cultural:
, 		; buffer zone 2013
Redwood National and State ParksUnited StatesCalifornia,

Natural:
, 		1980
Rideau CanalCanadaOntario

Cultural:
, 		; buffer zone 2007The Rideau Canal connects Ottawa to Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River. It was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its original structures intact. The canal system uses sections of major rivers, including the Rideau and the Cataraqui, as well as some lakes. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America.
Cultural:
, 		—1993
San Antonio MissionsUnited StatesTexas,

Cultural:
; buffer zone 2015
SGang GwaayCanadaBritish Columbia,

Cultural:
—1981
Sian Ka'anNatural:
, 		1987
Statue of LibertyUnited StatesNew York City, New York,

Cultural:
, 		—1984
Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere ReserveMixed:
, 		; buffer zone 2018
Waterton Glacier International Peace ParkCanadaAlberta, *;
Montana, *
Natural:
, 		1995
Natural:
1993
Wood Buffalo National ParkCanadaAlberta and Northwest Territories,

Natural:
,, 		1983
Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai'piCultural:
iii		2019The site contains the greatest concentration of rock art on the North American Great Plains and is sacred to the Niitsítapi people.
Yellowstone National ParkNatural:
,,, 		1978Endangered from 1995 to 2003. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous megafauna location in the contiguous United States. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States. Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring are two of the park's most famous sites.
Yosemite National ParkNatural:
, 		1984Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada. The park supports a diversity of plants and animals and has an elevation range from. It contains five major vegetation zones: chaparral and oak woodland, lower montane forest, upper montane forest, subalpine zone, and alpine. Of California's 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% within Yosemite. There is suitable habitat for more than 160 rare plants in the park, with rare local geologic formations and unique soils characterizing the restricted ranges many of these plants occupy.