Regions & Landscapes
The world’s culturally significant regions and landscapes include areas of striking natural beauty preserved over the course of centuries of human settlement; places where humans have adapted to the environment in innovative ways, such as by building terraces in mountainsides or canals in floodplains; and places where distinctive patterns of human settlement have arisen in response to special opportunities presented by the land, as exemplified by historic mining towns and vineyard communities.
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Beemster Polder
Location: Beemster, Netherlands, Europe
Laid out in a rectangular grid and crisscrossed by evenly spaced roads and canals, the 17th-century Beemster Polder, on land reclaimed from a lake, exemplifies Renaissance ideals of town planning.
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Blaenavon Industrial Landscape
Location: Blaenavon, United Kingdom, Europe
Blaenavon in South Wales is the site of ironworks, mines, quarries and workers’ cottages, representing an 18th–19th-century industrial landscape.
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Chenonceau Castle
Location: Loire Valley, France, Europe
Built on the River Cher in the Loire Valley, the Château de Chenonceau is a masterpiece of 16th-century Renaissance architecture.
See also: Palaces & Castles
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Cinque Terre
Location: Italy, Europe
The Cinque Terre along northern Italy’s Riviera is a series of villages that have been rather amazingly carved into a steep terraced-vineyard coastline.
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Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
Location: Devon, United Kingdom, Europe
The 18th and 19th century mines of Cornwall and west Devon, England, were once the world’s largest source of tin and copper.
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Costiera Amalfitana
Location: Amalfi, Italy, Europe
An ideal Mediterranean landscape, Costiera Amalfitana (Amalfi Coast) features diverse natural beauty and historic coastal settlements.
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Dorset and East Devon Coast
Location: Devon, United Kingdom, Europe
The Dorset and East Devon Coast of England is a well preserved time capsule dating back to the Mesozoic Era.
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Fort Apache
Location: Fort Apache, United States, North America
The original site of the Fort Apache Military Post, a major outpost during the 1861 to 1886 Apache Wars, is situated in the Fort Apache Historic District near Whiteriver, Arizona.
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Gulf of California
Location: Mexico, North America
The Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California, Mexico, are known as the world’s aquarium.
See also: Wonders of Nature
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Historic Route 66, United States
Location: Chicago/Los Angeles, United States, North America
U.S. Highway 66—better known as Route 66—is a remnant of America’s past and evidence of the origins of its current automobile influenced society.
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Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion
Location: Saint-Emilion, France, Europe
A historic wine-growing region, the Jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion in southern France boasts exceptional natural beauty and medieval monuments.
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Lancaster County
Location: United States, North America
In picturesque Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, farms with windmills and horses and buggies dot the landscape signifying a simpler way of life removed from the hustle and bustle of the 21st century.
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Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces
Location: Switzerland, Europe
The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, stretching for about 30 km along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva from the Chateau de Chillon to the eastern outskirts of Lausanne in the Vaud region, cover the lower slopes of the mountainside between the villages and the lake.
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Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout
Location: Kinderdijk, Netherlands, Europe
The windmills, pumping stations and canals of Kinderdijk-Elshout represent stages in the long history of technology developed by the Dutch for the reclaiming of flooded land.
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Ogasawara Islands
Location: Ogasawara, Japan, Asia
Known as the Galapagos of the East, the Ogasawara Islands, Japan, exhibit a unique evolutionary process found nowhere else on Earth.
See also: Wonders of Nature
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Paris, Banks of the Seine
Location: Paris, France, Europe
The section of the River Seine that flows through Paris, France, is famed for its natural beauty and the collection of architectural landmarks along its banks.
See also: Cities & Towns
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Rhaetian Railway in the Albula
Location: Switzerland, Europe
Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes, brings together two historic railway lines that cross the Swiss Alps through two passes.
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Rideau Canal, Ontario
Location: Canada, North America
The exquisitely preserved Rideau Canal, Ontario, Canada, is the oldest continuously operated canal in North America.
See also: Cities & Towns, Historic Sites
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Røros Mining Town and the Circumference
Location: Røros, Norway, Europe
The Norwegian mining town of Røros, along with the Femundshytta smelter and the Winter Transport Route, is a superbly preserved 17th-century industrial settlement.
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Shark Bay
Location: Australia, Oceania
Some of the oldest life forms on Earth live among the isolated habitats of Shark Bay, Australia.
See also: Wonders of Nature
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Stowe House
Location: Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, Europe
Set among breathtakingly beautiful landscaped gardens, Stowe House is one of the most majestic stately homes of 18th century England.
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Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch
Location: Switzerland, Europe
The site provides an outstanding example of the formation of the High Alps, including the most glaciated part of the mountain range and the largest glacier in Eurasia.
See also: Wonders of Nature
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The Loire Valley: Castle of Amboise
Location: Loire Valley, France, Europe
Rising above the town of Amboise and the River Loire in France, the Château d’Amboise is a Gothic-Renaissance castle that was favored by French kings.
See also: Palaces & Castles
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The Loire Valley: Castle of Ussé
Location: Loire Valley, France, Europe
The Château d’Ussé is said to have been the inspiration for the castle featured in the 17th-century French fairy tale La Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty).
See also: Palaces & Castles
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The Loire Valley: Villandry Castle
Location: Loire Valley, France, Europe
Château Villandry, the last of the great chateâus built in the Loire Valley during the Renaissance, is best known for its exquisite gardens.
See also: Palaces & Castles
