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Nov 4 2010 - 1:15pm
The Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek site in Canada and the United States was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979. The sites protected areas along the boundary of Canada and the United States of America are the largest non-polar ice-field in the world and...
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Nov 4 2010 - 1:41pm
The Galápagos Islands site in Ecuador was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978.
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Nov 8 2010 - 1:41pm
The Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California site in Mexico was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005. The site is important for its diversity of oceanographic processes, including wind- and current-driven upwelling, tidal mixing, and hydrothermal vents – all of which contribute...
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Nov 8 2010 - 2:13pm
The Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park site in the Philippines was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999. The site’s topography varies from flat plains to rolling hinterlands and hills to mountain peaks, encompassing a complete mountain-to-sea ecosystem and providing...
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Nov 4 2010 - 12:03pm
The Everglades National Park in the United States was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979. This site is a unique ecosystem created by a shallow, “imperceptible river” 50 miles wide, flowing slowly south to the tip of Florida.
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Nov 4 2010 - 3:17pm
The Gulf of Porto: Calanche of Piana, Gulf of Girolata, Scandola Reserve site in France was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1983. The site's vegetation is an outstanding example of scrubland. Seagulls, cormorants, and sea eagles can be found here, while the clear waters, with their islets...
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Nov 8 2010 - 2:15pm
The Tubbataha Reefs National Park site in the Philippines was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1993. The site is an example of a pristine coral reef with a spectacular 100 m (330 ft) perpendicular wall, extensive lagoons, and two coral islands – all of which supports a diverse marine...
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Nov 8 2010 - 2:03pm
The Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino site in Mexico was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1993.
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Nov 4 2010 - 11:38am
The Heard & McDonald Islands site in Australia was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997. As the only volcanically active sub-Antarctic islands, Heard and McDonald provide the opportunity to observe ongoing geomorphic processes and glacial dynamics.
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Nov 8 2010 - 2:07pm
The New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998. The islands are particularly notable for the abundance and diversity of nesting pelagic seabirds and penguins (including macaroni penguins, Eudyptes chrysolophus, pictured here). There are over 120 bird...
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Nov 4 2010 - 1:34pm
The Macquarie Island site in Australia was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997. The island is the exposed crest of the undersea Macquarie oceanic ridge, raised to its present position where the Indo-Australian tectonic plate meets the Pacific plate. It is a site of major geo-conservation...
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Nov 8 2010 - 1:57pm
The Sian Ka’an site in Mexico was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987. The site’s name means “Origin of the Sky” in Mayan and contains tropical forests, mangroves, and marshes, as well as a large marine area intersected by the Caribbean Barrier Reef. On land there are 1,200 plant species...
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Nov 5 2010 - 3:37pm
The Ha Long Bay site in Vietnam was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1994. The site’s 1,600 islands and islets form a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars surrounded by species-rich waters, including a tremendous diversity of marine algae and over a thousand varieties of fish.
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Nov 4 2010 - 3:23pm
The Wadden Sea site in Germany and the Netherlands was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2009. It’s a large relatively flat coastal wetland environment, with tidal channels, sandy shoals, sea-grass meadows, mussel beds, sandbars, mudflats, salt marshes, estuaries, beaches, and dunes. The site...
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Nov 4 2010 - 3:39pm
The East Rennell site in the Solomon Islands was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998. The site contains one of the largest raised coral atolls in the world, with a marine area extending three nautical miles to sea. The strong climatic effects of frequent cyclones make the area a true...
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Nov 4 2010 - 3:26pm
The Surtsey site in Iceland was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. Surtsey is a new island, formed by volcanic eruptions that took place from 1963 to 1967. The site is unique, because it’s been protected since its formation, providing the world with a pristine natural laboratory. Free...
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Nov 4 2010 - 3:44pm
The Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture site in Spain was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999. The site’s dense prairies of Posidonia oceanica, an important (and highly productive) endemic sea grass, provide coastal protection from storms, food and habitat for a broad diversity of marine life...
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Nov 4 2010 - 11:46am
The Sundarbans site in Bangladesh was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997.
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Nov 4 2010 - 3:54pm
The St. Kilda site in the United Kingdom was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986. The volcanic archipelago and surrounding marine waters have some of the highest cliffs in Europe and host large colonies of rare and endangered birds.
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Nov 4 2010 - 3:32pm
The Banc d'Arguin National Park site in Mauritania was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1989. Fringing the Atlantic coast, the park comprises sand dunes, coastal swamps, small islands, and shallow coastal waters. A wide variety of migrating birds spend the winter, while several species of...
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Nov 4 2010 - 11:30am
The Península Valdés in Argentina was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999. The site is home to important breeding populations of the endangered southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), and southern sea lion (Otaria flavescens), pictured here.
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Nov 4 2010 - 11:40am
The Shark Bay site in Australia was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991. The site is home to the world's richest and largest sea-grass beds; five species of endangered marine mammals, including dugongs (Dugong dugon), which feed on the grass; and stromatolites, dome-shaped structures...
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Nov 4 2010 - 1:37pm
The Cocos Island National Park site in Costa Rica was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997. Cocos Island’s position as the first point of contact with the northern equatorial counter-current and the myriad interactions between the island and the surrounding marine ecosystem make the area an...
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Nov 4 2010 - 3:36pm
The Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve site in Russia was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004. Located well above the Arctic Circle, the site includes the mountainous Wrangel Island, Herald Island, and surrounding waters.
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