Search
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
Photo

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Philippines

View Image
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. The reserve has exc
Photo

Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve, Russian Federation

View Image
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 ha
Photo

Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture, Spain

View Image
The Papahanaumokuakea site in the United States was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2010. The site is a vast isolated cluster of small low-lying islands and atolls surrounded by ocean that provides safe habitat for endangered species like the green
Photo

Papahanaumokuakea, United States

View Image
The coral reefs of Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia, a World Heritage site, are dominated by a small number of coral species and support some of the richest fish fauna in the Indonesian archipelago.
Photo

Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia

View Image
This map shows the localities represented by the Gulf of Mexico collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.
Photo

Map of Gulf of Mexico Collection

View Image
This raven routinely observed master carver Douglas Chilton as he shaped the canoe.
Photo

Raven Watches the Carver

View Image
This dog is helping researchers at the New England Aquarium in Boston detect scat (or poop) from North Atlantic right whales.
Photo

The Search for Whale Poop

View Image
This whale is entangled in fishing gear. The inset shows how special fishing lines allow whales to escape such accidental entrapments.
Photo

Fishing Gear Solutions

View Image
Riftia tubeworm (Riftia pachyptila) colonies near hot spring.
Photo

Tubeworms on a Hydrothermal Vent

View Image
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred on March 24, 1989 when an oil tanker grounded on a reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. It spilled almost 11 million gallons of crude oil, which reached 1,300 miles of coastline. The spill's remote location, accessib
Photo

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

View Image
A blue-ringed octopus
Photo

A Beautiful and Deadly Octopus

View Image