List of national monuments of the United States
List of national monuments
Table:
Name

Image

Agency

Location

Date established

Area[9][10][11][12][13]

Visitors (2018)[14]

Description

Admiralty Island

USFS

Alaska
57°38′N 134°21′W﻿ / ﻿57.64°N 134.35°W﻿ / 57.64; -134.35﻿ (Admiralty Island)

December 1, 1978

1,019,861 acres (4,127.2 km2)

Occupying most of Admiralty Island, the 7th largest in the United States, this monument is part of Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. The monument protects the densest known population of brown bear on Earth, along with habitat for the Sitka black-tailed deer. Most of the monument has been designated as the Kootznoowoo Wilderness, restricting future development. The Greens Creek mine lies within the monument.[15]

African Burial Ground

NPS

New York
40°42′52″N 74°00′15″W﻿ / ﻿40.7144°N 74.0042°W﻿ / 40.7144; -74.0042﻿ (African Burial Ground)

February 27, 2006

0.35 acres (0.001 km2)

45,035

Re-discovered in 1991 during excavations for a new federal building, this former burial ground that contains the remains of more than 400 free and enslaved Africans buried during the 17th and 18th centuries was designated a National Historic Landmark memorial in 1993.[16]

Agate Fossil Beds

NPS

Nebraska
42°24′58″N 103°43′41″W﻿ / ﻿42.416°N 103.728°W﻿ / 42.416; -103.728﻿ (Agate Fossil Beds)

June 14, 1997

3,057.87 acres (12.4 km2)

16,238

The valley of the Niobrara River is known for its large number of well-preserved Miocene mammal fossils which date from about 20 million years ago.[17]

Agua Fria

BLM

Arizona
34°09′N 112°05′W﻿ / ﻿34.15°N 112.08°W﻿ / 34.15; -112.08﻿ (Agua Fria)

January 11, 2000

70,980 acres (287.2 km2)

Located around the canyon of the Agua Fria River, it contains more than 450 distinct Native American structures, including large pueblos with more than 100 rooms.[18]

Aleutian Islands World War II

FWS

Alaska
52°52′N 173°10′W﻿ / ﻿52.87°N 173.16°W﻿ / 52.87; -173.16﻿ (Aleutian Islands World War II)

December 5, 2008

4,950 acres (20.0 km2)

During World War II Japan briefly occupied Attu Island and Kiska Island in the Aleutian chain. The monument includes the site of the 19-day battle to reclaim Attu, artifacts of the occupation at Kiska, and the crash site of a U.S. B-24D Liberator on Atka Island. Originally designated as part of World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which was divided and renamed March 12, 2019.[19][20]

Alibates Flint Quarries

NPS

Texas
35°34′N 101°40′W﻿ / ﻿35.57°N 101.67°W﻿ / 35.57; -101.67﻿ (Alibates Flint Quarries)

August 21, 1965

1,370.97 acres (5.5 km2)

7,415

Alibates was the quarry site for high-quality, rainbow-hued flint that was distributed throughout the Great Plains in pre-Columbian times. It is jointly operated with the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area and includes the ruins of several Plains Village Indian dwellings.[21]

Aniakchak

NPS

Alaska
56°54′N 158°09′W﻿ / ﻿56.9°N 158.15°W﻿ / 56.9; -158.15﻿ (Anikchak)

December 1, 1978

137,176 acres (555.1 km2)

100

Mount Aniakchak, which erupted 3,500 years ago, and the surrounding region make up one of the least visited NPS sites. Surprise Lake, within the volcano's 6-mile (9.7 km) wide, 2,500-foot (760 m) deep caldera, is the source of the Aniakchak River.[22]

Aztec Ruins

NPS

New Mexico
36°50′N 107°00′W﻿ / ﻿36.83°N 107.00°W﻿ / 36.83; -107.00﻿ (Aztec Ruins)

January 24, 1923

318.4 acres (1.3 km2)

54,933

The ruins contain Pueblo structures from the 11th to 13th centuries with more than 400 masonry rooms which were misidentified by early American settlers as Aztec. It has been included in the Chaco Culture World Heritage Site, which also includes Chaco Culture National Historical Park.[23]

Bandelier

NPS

New Mexico
35°47′N 106°16′W﻿ / ﻿35.78°N 106.27°W﻿ / 35.78; -106.27﻿ (Bandelier)

February 11, 1916

33,676.67 acres (136.3 km2)

198,441

Frijoles Canyon contains Ancestral Pueblo homes, kivas, rock paintings and petroglyphs. The Pueblo structures made of volcanic tuff date to 1150 CE, with other artifacts more than 11,000 years old.[24][25]

Basin and Range

BLM

Nevada
37°54′N 115°24′W﻿ / ﻿37.9°N 115.4°W﻿ / 37.9; -115.4﻿ (Basin and Range)

July 10, 2015

703,585 acres (2,847.3 km2)

The remote Mount Irish, Seaman, and Golden Gate Ranges surround the Garden and Coal Valleys and White River Narrows and are home to many desert species and 4,000-year-old rock art.[26][27]

Bears Ears

BLM, USFS

Utah
37°38′N 109°52′W﻿ / ﻿37.63°N 109.86°W﻿ / 37.63; -109.86﻿ (Bears Ears National Monument)

December 28, 2016

201,876 acres (817.0 km2)[28]

The Bears Ears are a pair of buttes that rise above sandstone canyons and mesas. Other points of geologic interest include the twin Six Shooter dome-shaped peaks, striated sandstone pinnacles, and natural arches. The wider region has tens of thousands of archaeological sites including rock art, ancient cliff dwellings, and ceremonial kivas.[29][30]

Belmont-Paul Women's Equality

NPS

District of Columbia
38°53′N 77°00′W﻿ / ﻿38.89°N 77.00°W﻿ / 38.89; -77.00﻿ (Belmont-Paul Women's Equality)

April 12, 2016

0.34 acres (0.001 km2)

9,081

Home of the National Woman's Party since 1929, this Adam Federal style house near the US Capitolwas the home where party leader Alice Paul and others lived and worked.[31][32][33]

Berryessa Snow Mountain

USFS, BLM

California
39°13′N 122°46′W﻿ / ﻿39.22°N 122.77°W﻿ / 39.22; -122.77﻿ (Berryessa Snow Mountain)

July 10, 2015

330,780 acres (1,338.6 km2)

Fewer than 100 miles (160 km) from the San Francisco Bay Area, Berryessa Snow Mountain protects part of the California Coast Range, one of the most biodiverse regions in the state, home to elk, osprey, river otters, half the state's dragonfly species, and California's second-largest population of wintering bald eagles.[26][34][35]

Birmingham Civil Rights

NPS

Alabama
33°30′47″N 86°48′54″W﻿ / ﻿33.513°N 86.815°W﻿ / 33.513; -86.815﻿ (Birmingham Civil Rights)

January 12, 2017

0.88 acres (0.004 km2)

Preserves the A. G. Gaston Motel, which was bombed by the KKK after Martin Luther King Jr. and Birmingham campaign leaders had stayed there, inciting the Birmingham riot of 1963.[36][37][38]

Booker T. Washington

NPS

Virginia
37°07′23″N 79°45′58″W﻿ / ﻿37.123°N 79.766°W﻿ / 37.123; -79.766﻿ (Booker T. Washington)

April 2, 1956

239.01 acres (1.0 km2)

22,732

The Booker T. Washington National Monument preserves portions of the 207-acre (0.84 km2) tobacco farm on which educator and civil rights leader Booker T. Washington was born into slavery on April 5, 1856. The site contains replicas of the house Washington was born in, a smokehouse, a blacksmith shed, a tobacco barn, and a horse barn.[39]

Browns Canyon

BLM, USFS

Colorado
38°36′54″N 106°03′32″W﻿ / ﻿38.615°N 106.059°W﻿ / 38.615; -106.059﻿ (Browns Canyon)

February 19, 2015

21,604 acres (87.4 km2)

Protects steep granite cliffs and colorful rock outcroppings overlooking the Arkansas River, where visitors can go whitewater rafting. Prehistoric campsites and shelters date back 11,000 years, while sites from gold mining remain from the late 1800s[40][41]

Buck Island Reef

NPS

US Virgin Islands
17°47′N 64°37′W﻿ / ﻿17.79°N 64.62°W﻿ / 17.79; -64.62﻿ (Buck Island Reef)

December 28, 1961

19,015.47 acres (77.0 km2)

31,411

Most of this monument is underwater, containing a large elkhorn coral barrier reef that provides cover for a great variety of reef fish, sea turtles and least terns. It is based around Buck Island, an uninhabited 176-acre (0.71 km2) island.[42]

Cabrillo

NPS

California
32°40′N 117°14′W﻿ / ﻿32.67°N 117.24°W﻿ / 32.67; -117.24﻿ (Cabrillo)

October 14, 1913

159.94 acres (0.6 km2)

842,104

This monument commemorates the landing of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, which was the first European expedition to what later became the West Coast of the U.S. The monument includes a statue of Cabrillo and 20th-century coastal artillery batteries built to protect the harbor of San Diego from enemy warships.[43]

California Coastal

BLM

California
36°53′N 122°11′W﻿ / ﻿36.89°N 122.18°W﻿ / 36.89; -122.18﻿ (California Coastal)

January 11, 2000

2,628 acres (10.6 km2)

This monument ensures the protection of all of the more than 20,000 islets, reefs and rock outcroppings from the coast of California to a distance of 12 nautical miles (22 km), along the entire 840-mile (1,350 km) long California coastline.[44]

Camp Nelson Heritage

NPS

Kentucky
37°47′N 84°36′W﻿ / ﻿37.78°N 84.60°W﻿ / 37.78; -84.60﻿ (Camp Nelson Heritage)

October 26, 2018

373 acres (1.5 km2)

Established in 1863 as a depot for the Union Army during the Civil War, Camp Nelson became a large recruitment center for African American Union soldiers: a key site of emancipation for those soldiers and a refugee camp for their families.[45]

Canyon de Chelly

NPS

Arizona
36°08′N 109°28′W﻿ / ﻿36.13°N 109.47°W﻿ / 36.13; -109.47﻿ (Canyon de Chelly)

April 1, 1931

83,840 acres (339.3 km2)

439,306

Located within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation, it preserves the valleys and rims of Canyon de Chelly, Canyon del Muerto, and Monument Canyon. Several Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings are built into the canyon walls.[46]

Canyons of the Ancients

BLM

Colorado
37°22′N 109°00′W﻿ / ﻿37.37°N 109°W﻿ / 37.37; -109﻿ (Canyon of the Ancients)

June 9, 2000

176,370 acres (713.7 km2)

Surrounding Hovenweep National Monument, it preserves and protects more than 6,000 archeological sites, the largest concentration in the U.S. These include Lowry Pueblo, dating to 1103 CE, and Painted Hand Pueblo built by the Ancestral Puebloans[47]

Cape Krusenstern

NPS

Alaska
67°25′N 163°30′W﻿ / ﻿67.41°N 163.50°W﻿ / 67.41; -163.50﻿ (Cape Krusenstern)

December 1, 1978

649,096.15 acres (2,626.8 km2)

Co-located with the NHLD Cape Krusenstern Archeological District, this coastal plain contains large lagoons and rolling hills of limestone. The bluffs record thousands of years of change in the shorelines of the Chukchi Sea, as well as evidence of some 9,000 years of human habitation.[48]

Capulin Volcano

NPS

New Mexico
36°47′N 103°58′W﻿ / ﻿36.79°N 103.96°W﻿ / 36.79; -103.96﻿ (Capulin Volcano)

August 9, 1916

792.84 acres (3.2 km2)

67,411

Capulin is an extinct cinder cone volcano that is approximately 59,000 years old and part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field. The crater is 400 feet (120 m) deep and its rim is more than 1,500 feet (460 m) in diameter.[49]

Carrizo Plain

BLM

California
35°10′N 119°45′W﻿ / ﻿35.16°N 119.75°W﻿ / 35.16; -119.75﻿ (Carrizo Plain)

January 12, 2001

211,045 acres (854.1 km2)

Carrizo Plain is the largest single native grassland remaining in California. It contains part of the San Andreas Fault and is surrounded by the Temblor Range and the Caliente Range. At the center of the plain is Soda Lake, which is near Painted Rock.[50]

Casa Grande Ruins

NPS

Arizona
32°59′N 111°32′W﻿ / ﻿32.99°N 111.54°W﻿ / 32.99; -111.54﻿ (Casa Grande Ruins)

August 3, 1918

472.5 acres (1.9 km2)

62,995

This monument preserves a group of structures surrounded by a compound wall in the Gila Valley that were built in the early 13th century. They were inhabited by the Hohokam people until they were abandoned in the mid-15th century.[51]

Cascade–Siskiyou

BLM

Oregon, California
42°05′N 122°28′W﻿ / ﻿42.08°N 122.46°W﻿ / 42.08; -122.46﻿ (Cascade-Siskiyou)

June 9, 2000

65,341 acres (264.4 km2)

One of the most diverse ecosystems found in the Cascade Range, it has more than 100 dwelling and root-gathering sites belonging to the Modoc, Klamath, and Shasta tribes.[52]

Castillo de San Marcos

NPS

Florida
29°53′53″N 81°18′40″W﻿ / ﻿29.898°N 81.311°W﻿ / 29.898; -81.311﻿ (Castillo de San Marcos)

October 15, 1924

19.38 acres (0.1 km2)

748,058

This Spanish fort near St. Augustine, called Fort Marion when first protected, served for 205 years under four different flags. Built in 1672, it was involved in sieges with the British while under Spanish command, the American Revolution under Britain, the Civil War under the Confederacy, and the Seminole Wars and the Spanish–American War under the United States.[53]

Castle Clinton

NPS

New York
40°42′13″N 74°01′01″W﻿ / ﻿40.7036°N 74.0169°W﻿ / 40.7036; -74.0169﻿ (Castle Clinton)

August 12, 1946

1 acre (0.004 km2)

4,533,564

A circular sandstone fort built in 1811 at the southern tip of Manhattan to protect New York City from the British, Castle Clinton is now located in Battery Park. It later became a beer garden, a theater, the first immigration station (predating Ellis Island), and a public aquarium.[54]

Castle Mountains

NPS

California
35°15′N 115°07′W﻿ / ﻿35.25°N 115.11°W﻿ / 35.25; -115.11﻿ (Castle Mountains)

February 12, 2016

21,025.5 acres (85.1 km2)

The Castle Mountains sit in the Mojave Desert between the Nevada state line and Mojave National Preserve. It protects desert grasslands home to Joshua tree forests, wildlife including golden eagles and bighorn sheep, and historic Native American sites.[55][56]

Cedar Breaks

NPS

Utah
37°38′N 112°51′W﻿ / ﻿37.63°N 112.85°W﻿ / 37.63; -112.85﻿ (Cedar Breaks)

August 22, 1933

6,154.6 acres (24.9 km2)

644,515

A natural amphitheater canyon similar to formations at Bryce Canyon National Park, it stretches over 3 miles (4.8 km) and is more than 2,000 feet (610 m) deep.[57]

César E. Chávez

NPS

California
35°13′38″N 118°33′41″W﻿ / ﻿35.2273°N 118.5614°W﻿ / 35.2273; -118.5614﻿ (Cesar E. Chavez)

October 8, 2012

116.56 acres (0.5 km2)

12,769

This monument commemorates the life and work of labor leader and civil right activist Cesar Chavez. Called La Paz, the site was Chavez's home for about 20 years, and his gravesite is on the premises. It is also the location of the headquarters of United Farm Workers, which was founded by Chavez.[58][59]

Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers

NPS

Ohio
39°42′26″N 83°53′25″W﻿ / ﻿39.7072°N 83.8903°W﻿ / 39.7072; -83.8903﻿ (Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers)

March 25, 2013

59.66 acres (0.2 km2)

31,448

Charles Young was the first African American to reach the rank of colonel in the US Army. He was also the first national park superintendent, of Sequoia and General Grant National Parks, and a professor at Wilberforce University. His home at Wilberforce is a museum commemorating his life.[60][61]

Chimney Rock

USFS

Colorado
37°11′30″N 107°18′23″W﻿ / ﻿37.1917°N 107.3064°W﻿ / 37.1917; -107.3064﻿ (Chimney Rock)

September 21, 2012

4,724 acres (19.1 km2)

The jewel of San Juan National Forest, the site was once home to the ancestors of the modern Pueblos. Roughly 1,000 years ago, the Ancestral Pueblo People built more than 200 homes and ceremonial buildings high above the valley floor.[62]

Chiricahua

NPS

Arizona
32°01′N 109°21′W﻿ / ﻿32.02°N 109.35°W﻿ / 32.02; -109.35﻿ (Chiricahua)

April 18, 1924

12,024.73 acres (48.7 km2)

60,577

These pillars of rhyolite tuff are the eroded remains of an immense volcanic eruption that shook the region some 27 million years ago. It was called the Land of the Standing-Up Rocks by the Apache.[63]

Colorado

NPS

Colorado
39°02′N 108°41′W﻿ / ﻿39.04°N 108.69°W﻿ / 39.04; -108.69﻿ (Colorado)

May 24, 1911

20,536.39 acres (83.1 km2)

375,467

Monument Canyon runs the width of the park and includes rock formations formed by erosion. The monument covers semi-desert land high on the Colorado Plateau and has a wide range of wildlife including pinyon pines, juniper trees, ravens, jays, desert bighorn sheep, and coyotes as well as a range of recreational activities.[64]

Craters of the Moon

NPS, BLM

Idaho
43°25′N 113°31′W﻿ / ﻿43.42°N 113.52°W﻿ / 43.42; -113.52﻿ (Craters of the Moon)

May 2, 1924

53,437.64 acres (216.3 km2)

263,506

One of the best preserved flood basalt areas in the continental U.S. contains three lava fields along the Great Rift of Idaho as well as the world's deepest open rift cracks and other volcanic features.[65][66]

Devils Postpile

NPS

California
37°30′N 119°05′W﻿ / ﻿37.50°N 119.08°W﻿ / 37.50; -119.08﻿ (Devils Postpile)

July 6, 1911

800.19 acres (3.2 km2)

139,724

Once part of Yosemite National Park, this monument is a dark cliff of columnar basalt created by a lava flow at least 100,000 years ago. It also has the 101-foot (31 m)-high Rainbow Falls.[67]

Devils Tower

NPS

Wyoming
44°35′N 104°43′W﻿ / ﻿44.59°N 104.72°W﻿ / 44.59; -104.72﻿ (Devils Tower)

September 24, 1906

1,347.21 acres (5.5 km2)

468,216

The tower is a monolithic igneous intrusion of volcanic neck rising dramatically 1,267 feet (386 m) above the surrounding terrain. Proclaimed by Theodore Roosevelt, this was the first national monument.[3]

Dinosaur

NPS

Colorado, Utah
40°32′N 108°59′W﻿ / ﻿40.53°N 108.98°W﻿ / 40.53; -108.98﻿ (Dinosaur)

October 4, 1915

210,281.92 acres (851.0 km2)

304,468

This sandstone and conglomerate bed at the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers was formed in the Jurassic Period and contains fossils of dinosaurs including Allosaurus and various long-neck and long-tail sauropods.[68]

Effigy Mounds

NPS

Iowa
43°05′N 91°11′W﻿ / ﻿43.09°N 91.19°W﻿ / 43.09; -91.19﻿ (Effigy Mounds)

October 25, 1949

2,526.39 acres (10.2 km2)

55,576

This monument preserves three prehistoric sites with 206 prehistoric mounds, notable for 31 unusual mounds in the shape of mammals, birds, or reptiles.[69]

El Malpais

NPS

New Mexico
34°53′N 108°03′W﻿ / ﻿34.88°N 108.05°W﻿ / 34.88; -108.05﻿ (El Malpais)

December 31, 1987

114,347.11 acres (462.7 km2)

154,368

An extremely rough, rugged lava flow covers much of the park, filling a large basin rimmed by higher sandstone that forms large, wind-carved bluffs. It has lava tube caves that stretch over 17 miles (27 km) and the Cebolla Wilderness, a forested rimrock area that features prehistoric rock art and the Zuni-Acoma Trail, an ancient Pueblo trade route.[70]

El Morro

NPS

New Mexico
35°02′N 108°21′W﻿ / ﻿35.04°N 108.35°W﻿ / 35.04; -108.35﻿ (El Morro)

December 8, 1906

1,278.72 acres (5.2 km2)

65,453

On the site of an ancient east-west trail is a great sandstone promontory with a pool of water at its base. There are inscriptions from the 17th century as well as older petroglyphs made by the Ancestral Puebloans.[71]

Florissant Fossil Beds

NPS

Colorado
38°55′N 105°16′W﻿ / ﻿38.92°N 105.27°W﻿ / 38.92; -105.27﻿ (Florissant Fossil beds)

August 20, 1969

6,300 acres (25.5 km2)[19]

79,568

Huge petrified redwoods and incredibly detailed fossils of ancient insects and plants reveal a very different landscape in Colorado of almost 35 million years ago in the Eocene age.[72]

Fort Frederica

NPS

Georgia
31°13′26″N 81°23′35″W﻿ / ﻿31.224°N 81.393°W﻿ / 31.224; -81.393﻿ (Fort Frederica)

May 26, 1936

305 acres (1.2 km2)[19]

183,591

Built by James Oglethorpe between 1736 and 1748, these remnants of a fort and town protected the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from Spanish raids. It was a few miles from the site of the Battle of Bloody Marsh.[73]

Fort Matanzas

NPS

Florida
29°42′54″N 81°14′20″W﻿ / ﻿29.715°N 81.239°W﻿ / 29.715; -81.239﻿ (Fort Matanzas)

October 15, 1924

300.11 acres (1.2 km2)

608,103

This 1740 Spanish fort guarded Matanzas Inlet, the southern mouth of the Matanzas River, which allowed access to St. Augustine. The monument is managed in conjunction with Castillo de San Marcos National Monument and also protects 100 acres (0.40 km2) of salt marsh and barrier islands.[74]

Fort McHenry

NPS

Maryland
39°15′47″N 76°34′44″W﻿ / ﻿39.263°N 76.579°W﻿ / 39.263; -76.579﻿ (Fort McHenry)

March 3, 1925

43.26 acres (0.2 km2)

486,113

The only place designated a national monument and historic shrine, Fort McHenry is a star-shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812 when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy. It inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner".[75]

Fort Monroe

NPS

Virginia
37°00′14″N 76°18′29″W﻿ / ﻿37.004°N 76.308°W﻿ / 37.004; -76.308﻿ (Fort Monroe)

November 1, 2011

367.12 acres (1.5 km2)

The six-sided star fort spans the American story from the 17th to the 21st centuries: Captain John Smith's journeys, a haven of freedom for the enslaved during the Civil War, and a bastion of defense for the Chesapeake Bay.[76]

Fort Ord

BLM

California
36°38′21″N 121°44′07″W﻿ / ﻿36.639167°N 121.735278°W﻿ / 36.639167; -121.735278﻿ (Fort Ord)

April 20, 2012

14,658 acres (59.3 km2)

Fort Ord was an Army post from 1917 to 1994. It now has recreational trails and various wildlife in grassland, chaparral, and woodland ecosystems.[77]

Fort Pulaski

NPS

Georgia
32°01′37″N 80°53′24″W﻿ / ﻿32.027°N 80.890°W﻿ / 32.027; -80.890﻿ (Fort Pulaski)

October 15, 1924

5,623.1 acres (22.8 km2)

419,930

In 1862 during the American Civil War, the Union Army successfully tested a rifled cannon against the defending Confederates, rendering brick fortifications obsolete. Fort Pulaski was also used as a prisoner-of-war camp during the war. The national monument includes most of Cockspur Island (containing the fort) and all of adjacent McQueens Island.[78]

Fort Stanwix

NPS

New York
43°13′05″N 75°27′32″W﻿ / ﻿43.218°N 75.459°W﻿ / 43.218; -75.459﻿ (Fort Stanwix)

August 21, 1935

15.52 acres (0.1 km2)

90,507

Fort Stanwix guarded a strategic 18th century portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place. It was built during the French and Indian War (1754–1763). The fort successfully resisted the 1777 siege by a British invasion army during the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War. Erased by the development of Rome, New York, it was rebuilt as a national monument in the late 1970s.[79]

Fort Union

NPS

New Mexico
35°55′30″N 105°00′32″W﻿ / ﻿35.925°N 105.009°W﻿ / 35.925; -105.009﻿ (Fort Union)

April 5, 1956

720.6 acres (2.9 km2)

10,860

A frontier military post and supply depot in the late 19th century, it sat at the intersection of the Mountain and Cimarron Branches of the old Santa Fe Trail.[80]

Fossil Butte

NPS

Wyoming
41°52′N 110°46′W﻿ / ﻿41.86°N 110.77°W﻿ / 41.86; -110.77﻿ (Fossil Butte)

October 23, 1972

8,198 acres (33.2 km2)

21,349

Fossil Butte preserves the 50-million-year-old Green River lake beds, the best paleontological record of tertiary aquatic communities in North America. Fossils including fish, alligators, bats, turtles, dog-sized horses, insects, and many other species of plants and animals suggest that the region was a low, subtropical, freshwater basin when the sediments accumulated, over about a 2-million-year period.[81]

Freedom Riders

NPS

Alabama
33°39′29″N 85°49′52″W﻿ / ﻿33.658°N 85.831°W﻿ / 33.658; -85.831﻿ (Freedom Riders)

January 12, 2017

5.96 acres (0.02 km2)

Preserves two sites in and near Anniston, Alabama during the civil rights movement—a former Greyhound bus station in the town where Freedom Riders were attacked by a racist mob and the site outside town where their bus was burned.[36][82]

George Washington Birthplace

NPS

Virginia
38°11′10″N 76°55′50″W﻿ / ﻿38.1861°N 76.9305°W﻿ / 38.1861; -76.9305﻿ (George Washington's Birthplace)

January 23, 1930

653.18 acres (2.6 km2)

111,058

Representative of 18th-century Virginia tobacco farms, this site is the birthplace and boyhood environment of George Washington. The entrance includes a Memorial Shaft obelisk of Vermont marble that is a one-tenth scale replica of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. Also within the monument are the historic birthplace home area, a kitchen house, and the Washington family burial ground.[83]

George Washington Carver

NPS

Missouri
36°59′10″N 94°21′14″W﻿ / ﻿36.986°N 94.354°W﻿ / 36.986; -94.354﻿ (George Washington Carver)

July 14, 1943

210 acres (0.8 km2)

44,411

The site preserves Moses Carver's farm, which was the boyhood home of George Washington Carver, a scientist and educator who developed many uses for peanuts. It was the first national monument dedicated to an African-American and first to a non-president.[84]

Giant Sequoia

USFS

California
36°02′N 118°30′W﻿ / ﻿36.04°N 118.50°W﻿ / 36.04; -118.50﻿ (Giant Sequoia National Monument)

April 15, 2000

352,626 acres (1,427.0 km2)

The monument includes 38 of the 39 giant sequoia groves in the Sequoia National Forest, amounting to about half of the sequoia groves currently in existence. This includes one of the ten largest giant sequoias, the Boole Tree. Its two parts are around Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.[85]

Gila Cliff Dwellings

NPS

New Mexico
33°14′N 108°17′W﻿ / ﻿33.24°N 108.28°W﻿ / 33.24; -108.28﻿ (Gila Cliff Dwellings)

November 16, 1907

533.13 acres (2.2 km2)

79,108

Located within the Gila Wilderness, the people of the Mogollon culture lived in these cliff dwellings 180 feet (55 m) above the canyon floor from the 1280s through the early 14th century. They lived in five caves with 46 rooms.[86]

Gold Butte

BLM

Nevada
36°16′52″N 114°12′04″W﻿ / ﻿36.281°N 114.201°W﻿ / 36.281; -114.201﻿ (Gold Butte National Monument)

December 28, 2016

296,937 acres (1,201.7 km2)[87]

Mojave Desert landscape of dramatic red sandstone, canyons, forested mountains, ancient rock art, rock shelters, roasting pits, and a mining ghost town[29][88]

Governors Island

NPS

New York
40°41′28″N 74°00′58″W﻿ / ﻿40.691°N 74.016°W﻿ / 40.691; -74.016﻿ (Governors Island)

January 19, 2001

22.91 acres (0.1 km2)

589,798

From 1783 to 1966, Governors Island in New York Harbor was an Army post, and from 1966 to 1996 it was a Coast Guard installation. Located on Governors Island are Castle Williams and Fort Jay, which served as outposts to protect New York City from sea attack.[89]

Grand Canyon-Parashant

BLM, NPS

Arizona
36°24′N 113°42′W﻿ / ﻿36.4°N 113.7°W﻿ / 36.4; -113.7﻿ (Grand Canyon-Parashant)

January 11, 2000

1,021,030 acres (4,132.0 km2)

Located on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon, this diverse landscape includes an array of scientific and historic resources. About 20,000 of the monument's 1,017,000 acres (4,120 km2) are also within Lake Mead National Recreation Area; Grand Canyon-Parashant is not considered an official NPS unit. There are no paved roads or visitor services.[90][91]

Grand Portage

NPS

Minnesota
47°58′N 89°41′W﻿ / ﻿47.96°N 89.68°W﻿ / 47.96; -89.68﻿ (Grant Portage)

January 27, 1960

709.97 acres (2.9 km2)

94,137

The Grand Portage itself is an 8.5-mile (13.7 km) footpath which bypasses a set of waterfalls on the Pigeon River near Lake Superior. The region was a vital trade route and center of fur trade activity as well as an Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage site.[92]

Grand Staircase-Escalante

BLM

Utah
37°24′N 111°41′W﻿ / ﻿37.4°N 111.68°W﻿ / 37.4; -111.68﻿ (Grand Staircase-Escalante)

September 18, 1996

1,003,863 acres (4,062.5 km2)[93]

Preserving 1,003,863 acres (4,062.49 km2), the monument consists of the Grand Staircase, the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Canyons of the Escalante. It is notable for its paleontological finds and geology, and it was the first monument to be maintained by the Bureau of Land Management.[94]

Hagerman Fossil Beds

NPS

Idaho
42°47′N 114°57′W﻿ / ﻿42.79°N 114.95°W﻿ / 42.79; -114.95﻿ (Hagerman Fossil Beds)

November 18, 1988

4,351.15 acres (17.6 km2)

26,477

This monument contains the largest concentration of Hagerman horse fossils in North America. It protects the world's richest known fossil deposits from the late Pliocene epoch, 3.5 million years ago. These plants and animals represent the last glimpse of time that existed before the Ice Age, and the earliest appearances of modern flora and fauna.[95]

Hanford Reach

FWS, DOE

Washington
46°29′N 119°32′W﻿ / ﻿46.48°N 119.53°W﻿ / 46.48; -119.53﻿ (Hanford Reach)

June 8, 2000

194,450.93 acres (786.9 km2)

Created from what used to be the security buffer surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, this area has been untouched by development or agriculture since 1943. The area is part of the Columbia River Plateau, formed by basalt lava flows and water erosion, and is named after the Hanford Reach, the last free flowing section of the Columbia River.[96]

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad

FWS

Maryland

March 25, 2013

480 acres (1.9 km2)

Harriet Tubman was a famed conductor on the Underground Railroad, leading dozens of slaves to freedom. This monument includes sites relating to Tubman's life, including the slave-built Stewart's Canal and the home of Jacob Jackson.[60] The areas within the national monument that are managed by the NPS have been additionally designated as a National Historical Park (NHP) and are managed by the NPS.[97]

Hohokam Pima

NPS

Arizona
33°11′N 111°55′W﻿ / ﻿33.19°N 111.91°W﻿ / 33.19; -111.91﻿ (Hohokam Pima)

October 21, 1972

1,690 acres (6.8 km2)

Hohokam Pima is part of the Gila River Indian Community and not open to the public. The monument preserves the Snaketown-Settlement, archeological remains of the Hohokam culture, which lived in the area until 1500.[98]

Homestead

NPS

Nebraska
40°17′06″N 96°49′19″W﻿ / ﻿40.285°N 96.822°W﻿ / 40.285; -96.822﻿ (Homestead)

March 19, 1936

211.09 acres (0.9 km2)

68,091

Daniel Freeman's homestead was recognized by the United States Congress as the first homestead in the nation obtained through the Homestead Act of 1862. The monument contains a visitor center, a tract of tallgrass prairie, and the Freeman School.[99]

Hovenweep

NPS

Colorado, Utah
37°23′N 109°05′W﻿ / ﻿37.38°N 109.08°W﻿ / 37.38; -109.08﻿ (Hovenweep)

March 2, 1923

784.93 acres (3.2 km2)

40,574

Hovenweep contains six clusters of Native American ruins. Holly Canyon, Hackberry Canyon, Cutthroat Castle and Goodman Point are in Colorado and Square Tower and Cajon are in Utah. Ancestral Puebloans lived in the Hovenweep area from 1150 to 1350.[100]

Ironwood Forest

BLM

Arizona
32°28′N 111°34′W﻿ / ﻿32.46°N 111.57°W﻿ / 32.46; -111.57﻿ (Ironwood Forest)

June 9, 2000

129,055 acres (522.3 km2)

Located within the Sonoran Desert, significant concentrations of ironwood (Olneya tesota) trees and two endangered animal and plant species are found within the monument. More than 200 Hohokam and Paleoindian archeological sites have been identified from between 600 and 1450 AD[101]

Jewel Cave

NPS

South Dakota
43°44′N 103°50′W﻿ / ﻿43.73°N 103.83°W﻿ / 43.73; -103.83﻿ (Jewel Cave)

February 7, 1908

1,273.51 acres (5.2 km2)

142,356

Jewel Cave is the third longest cave in the world, with more than 195 miles (314 km) of mapped passageways beneath the Black Hills of South Dakota.[102] The entrance was discovered by miners in 1900 and was named for its calcite crystals.[103]

John Day Fossil Beds

NPS

Oregon
44°40′N 120°03′W﻿ / ﻿44.67°N 120.05°W﻿ / 44.67; -120.05﻿ (John Day Fossil)

October 26, 1974

14,062.02 acres (56.9 km2)

204,621

Located within the John Day River Basin, the Fossil Beds have a well-preserved, complete record of fossil plants and animals from more than 40 of the 65 million years of the Cenozoic Era. The monument is divided into three units: Painted Hills, named for its delicately colored stratifications; Sheep Rock; and Clarno. Blue Basin is a volcanic ash bowl transformed into claystone by eons of erosion, colored pastel blue by minerals.[104]

Jurassic

BLM

Utah
39°19′N 110°41′W﻿ / ﻿39.32°N 110.69°W﻿ / 39.32; -110.69﻿ (Jurassic)

March 12, 2019

850 acres (3.4 km2)

More than 12,000 bones from at least 74 dinosaurs have been found at the Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry so far, making it the paleontological site with the greatest concentration of bones from the Jurassic period. The bones come from a variety of mostly carnivorous species (more than half Allosaurus) and it is unknown why they are mixed together.[19][105][106]

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks

BLM

New Mexico
35°40′N 106°25′W﻿ / ﻿35.67°N 106.42°W﻿ / 35.67; -106.42﻿ (Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks)

January 17, 2001

4,647 acres (18.8 km2)

Kasha-Katuwe is known for its geology of layers of volcanic rock and ash deposited by a volcanic explosion. Over time, weathering and erosion of these layers has created canyons and tent rocks. The tent rocks themselves are cones of soft pumice and tuff beneath harder caprocks.[107]

Katahdin Woods and Waters

NPS

Maine
45°58′N 68°37′W﻿ / ﻿45.97°N 68.62°W﻿ / 45.97; -68.62﻿ (Katahdin Woods and Waters)

August 24, 2016

87,564.27 acres (354.4 km2)

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument protects mountains and wilderness in the North Maine Woods, including a section of the East Branch Penobscot River. It borders the eastern side of Baxter State Park.[108]

Lava Beds

NPS

California
41°43′N 121°31′W﻿ / ﻿41.71°N 121.51°W﻿ / 41.71; -121.51﻿ (Lava Beds)

November 21, 1925

46,692.42 acres (189.0 km2)

127,771

This is the site of the largest concentration of lava tube caves in North America. It also includes Petroglyph Point, one of the largest panels of Native American rock art. The monument lies on the northeast flank of the Medicine Lake Volcano, the largest volcano in the Cascade Range.[109]

Little Bighorn Battlefield

NPS

Montana
45°34′N 107°26′W﻿ / ﻿45.57°N 107.43°W﻿ / 45.57; -107.43﻿ (Little Bighorn Battlefield)

July 1, 1940

765.34 acres (3.1 km2)

272,591

The 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn between George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry and a combined Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho force led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse took place here.[110]

Marianas Trench Marine

NOAA, FWS

Northern Mariana Islands, Guam
20°N 145°E﻿ / ﻿20°N 145°E﻿ / 20; 145﻿ (Marianas Trench Marine)

January 6, 2009

61,077,668 acres (247,172.6 km2)

This marine monument includes the waters and submerged lands of the three northernmost islands of the Mariana Archipelago, the submerged lands of 21 designated volcanic sites, and the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth.[111][112][113]

Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home

NPS

Mississippi
32°20′28″N 90°12′47″W﻿ / ﻿32.341°N 90.213°W﻿ / 32.341; -90.213﻿ (Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home)

March 12, 2019[114]

Medgar Evers was a civil rights activist who served as a field secretary for the NAACP to end segregation and promote voting rights in Mississippi. He was assassinated outside his home in Jackson by a white supremacist in 1963. His wife Myrlie moved away but owned the home until 1993 and later served as chairwoman of the NAACP.[115][19][106]

Military Working Dog Teams

File:Not Forgotten Fountain - Oct 28--2013.jpg

DOD

Texas
29°23′24″N 98°37′01″W﻿ / ﻿29.390°N 98.617°W﻿ / 29.390; -98.617﻿ (Military Working Dog Teams National Monument)

October 28, 2013

The monument at Lackland Air Force Base, the home of the U.S. Department of Defense Military Working Dog Program, honors the efforts and sacrifices of military working dogs in the service of the United States.[116]

Mill Springs Battlefield

NPS

Kentucky
37°04′N 84°44′W﻿ / ﻿37.07°N 84.74°W﻿ / 37.07; -84.74﻿ (Mill Springs Battlefield)

March 12, 2019[114]

The Battle of Mill Springs was fought at this site in January 1862 and was the first major victory for the Union Army. The one-day battle saw Union forces led by George Henry Thomas defeat Confederate regiments led by Felix Zollicoffer, who died in action. The site is now largely an open field with a visitor center adjacent to Mill Springs National Cemetery.[19][106]

Misty Fjords

USFS

Alaska
55°37′N 130°37′W﻿ / ﻿55.62°N 130.61°W﻿ / 55.62; -130.61﻿ (Misty Fjords)

December 1, 1978

2,294,072 acres (9,283.8 km2)

Located within the Tongass National Forest and called The Yosemite of the North for its similar geology, it also contains the Quartz Hill molybdenum deposit, possibly the largest such mineral deposit in the world. Throughout the monument is light-colored granite, about 50 to 70 million years old (Eocene Epoch to Cretaceous Period), that has been sculpted by glaciers that gouged deep U-shaped troughs. Mountain goats live in the higher elevations, while brown and black bear are also common.[117]

Mojave Trails

BLM

California
34°36′N 116°00′W﻿ / ﻿34.6°N 116.0°W﻿ / 34.6; -116.0﻿ (Mojave Trails)

February 12, 2016

1,600,000 acres (6,475.0 km2)

The Mojave Trails National Monument includes several rugged mountain ranges, ancient lava flows at the Amboy Crater, and the Cadiz Dunes. Human features are Native American trading routes, World War II-era training camps, and an undeveloped segment of Route 66.[118][119]

Montezuma Castle

NPS

Arizona
34°37′N 111°50′W﻿ / ﻿34.61°N 111.84°W﻿ / 34.61; -111.84﻿ (Montezuma Castle)

December 8, 1906

1,015.52 acres (4.1 km2)

390,151

Montezuma Castle features cliff dwellings built by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people between 1100 and 1400 AD. The site's name is a misnomer as is it has no connection to Montezuma. However, some modern day native tribes that do have connections to the site include the Yavapai, Hopi, and Zuni. The monument also includes Montezuma Well, which has been used for irrigation since the 8th century.[120]

Mount St. Helens Volcanic

USFS

Washington
46°14′N 122°11′W﻿ / ﻿46.23°N 122.18°W﻿ / 46.23; -122.18﻿ (Mount St. Helens)

August 27, 1982

113,205 acres (458.1 km2)

Following the 1980 eruption of the now-8,363-foot-tall (2,549 m) Mount St. Helens, the environment was left to respond naturally to the disturbance. The volcanic crater is surrounded by a pumice plain with deposits from the landslide, preserved wind-blown trees, and the Ape Cave lava tube.[121]

Muir Woods

NPS

California
37°53′N 122°35′W﻿ / ﻿37.89°N 122.58°W﻿ / 37.89; -122.58﻿ (Muir Woods)

January 9, 1908

553.55 acres (2.2 km2)

957,932

Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, it protects one of the last old growth Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) groves in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as one of the most easily accessed.[122]

Natural Bridges

NPS

Utah
37°35′N 110°00′W﻿ / ﻿37.58°N 110°W﻿ / 37.58; -110﻿ (Natural Bridges)

April 16, 1908

7,636.49 acres (30.9 km2)

103,118

Located at the junction of White Canyon and Armstrong Canyon, it is part of the Colorado River drainage. It features the second- and third-largest natural bridges in the western hemisphere, carved from the white Triassic sandstone of the Cedar Mesa Formation that gives White Canyon its name.[123]

Navajo

NPS

Arizona
36°41′N 110°32′W﻿ / ﻿36.68°N 110.53°W﻿ / 36.68; -110.53﻿ (Navajo)

March 20, 1909

360 acres (1.5 km2)

61,195

This monument preserves three of the most intact cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan people. The monument is high on the Shonto plateau, overlooking the Tsegi Canyon system on the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona.[124]

Newberry Volcanic

USFS

Oregon
43°41′N 121°15′W﻿ / ﻿43.69°N 121.25°W﻿ / 43.69; -121.25﻿ (Newberry Volcano)

November 5, 1990

57,323 acres (232.0 km2)

Located within Deschutes National Forest, the monument protects the area around the Newberry Volcano and its geologic features including Lava Butte and the Lava River Cave. The volcanic site in the Cascades is still geothermally active and includes lakes and ancient lava flow fields.[125]

Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine

NOAA, FWS

Atlantic Ocean
40°24′N 68°00′W﻿ / ﻿40.4°N 68°W﻿ / 40.4; -68﻿ (Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine)

September 15, 2016

3,144,320 acres (12,724.6 km2)

The monument protects four underwater seamounts and three very deep canyons in the continental shelf 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Massachusetts, home to several endangered species.[126][127][128]

Oregon Caves

NPS

Oregon
42°06′N 123°25′W﻿ / ﻿42.10°N 123.41°W﻿ / 42.10; -123.41﻿ (Oregon Caves)

July 12, 1909

4,554.03 acres (18.4 km2)

67,417

The monument is known for its marble caves, as well as for the Pleistocene jaguar and grizzly bear fossils found in the deeper caves. There are four primary buildings: The Oregon Caves Chateau, The Ranger Residence, The Chalet, and the old Dormitory.[129]

Organ Pipe Cactus

NPS

Arizona
32°02′N 112°52′W﻿ / ﻿32.04°N 112.86°W﻿ / 32.04; -112.86﻿ (Organ Pipe Cactus)

April 13, 1937

330,688.86 acres (1,338.3 km2)

260,375

This monument is the only place in the United States where the organ pipe cactus grows wild. There are many other types of cacti and desert flora native to the Sonoran Desert. The Bates Well Ranch and Dos Lomitas Ranch are also within the monument.[130]

Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks

BLM

New Mexico
32°18′N 106°33′W﻿ / ﻿32.3°N 106.55°W﻿ / 32.3; -106.55﻿ (Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks)

May 21, 2014

419,532 acres (1,697.8 km2)

The protected area includes five mountain ranges that rise above the Chihuahua Desert: Robledo Mountains, Sierra de las Uvas, Doña Ana Mountains, Organ Mountains and Potrillo Mountains. There are approximately 870 vascular plant species, and the area is popular for hiking and climbing.

Pacific Remote Islands Marine

NOAA, FWS

US Minor Outlying Islands south-southwest of Hawaii
16°45′N 169°31′W﻿ / ﻿16.75°N 169.52°W﻿ / 16.75; -169.52﻿ (Pacific Remote Islands Marine)

January 6, 2009

313,941,851 acres (1,270,477.6 km2)

The marine monument consists of Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island, which are in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii. It was expanded in 2014 to include the oceans 200 nmi (370 km) offshore, approximately a 16-fold increase in size.[112][131]

Papahānaumokuākea Marine

NOAA, FWS

Hawaii, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands
25°42′N 171°44′W﻿ / ﻿25.7°N 171.73°W﻿ / 25.7; -171.73﻿ (Papahānaumokuākea)

June 15, 2006

372,848,597 acres (1,508,864.7 km2)

The marine monument consists of ocean waters and 10 islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands including Midway Atoll (which is the site of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge). The monument was created in 2006 with 139,797 square miles (362,070 km2), and its boundaries were expanded on August 26, 2016, more than quadrupling in size to be the largest protected area on Earth, almost the size of the Gulf of Mexico.[132] The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands archipelago "is the planet's largest seabird gathering site, with more than 14 million birds from 22 species, and is home to nearly all Laysan albatrosses and the remaining endangered Hawaiian monk seals."[133] It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2010.[134][135]

Petroglyph

NPS

New Mexico
35°10′N 106°46′W﻿ / ﻿35.16°N 106.76°W﻿ / 35.16; -106.76﻿ (Petroglyph)

June 27, 1990

7,209.3 acres (29.2 km2)

268,613

This monument protects a variety of cultural and natural resources, including five volcanic cones, hundreds of archeological sites and an estimated 25,000 images carved by native peoples and early Spanish settlers. It lies on West Mesa, a volcanic basalt escarpment.[136]

Pipe Spring

NPS

Arizona
36°52′N 112°44′W﻿ / ﻿36.86°N 112.73°W﻿ / 36.86; -112.73﻿ (Pipe Spring)

May 31, 1923

40 acres (0.2 km2)

25,179

Rich with Native Americans, early explorer and Mormon pioneer history, this site shows Ancestral Puebloans and Kaibab Paiute Indian and pioneer life in the Old West, including the cabin where explorer John Wesley Powell's survey crew stayed in 1871. The water of Pipe Spring, discovered in 1858, made it possible for plants, animals, and people to live in this dry desert region.[137]

Pipestone

NPS

Minnesota
44°01′N 96°20′W﻿ / ﻿44.01°N 96.33°W﻿ / 44.01; -96.33﻿ (Pipestone)

August 25, 1937

281.78 acres (1.1 km2)

73,267

This monument preserves traditional catlinite quarries used to make ceremonial pipes, vitally important to traditional Plains Indian culture. The quarries are sacred to the Sioux and Lakota people and are historically neutral territory where enrolled citizens of all tribes can quarry the stone.[138]

Pompeys Pillar

BLM

Montana
45°59′24″N 108°00′04″W﻿ / ﻿45.99°N 108.001°W﻿ / 45.99; -108.001﻿ (Pompeys Pillar)

January 17, 2001

51 acres (0.2 km2)

Pompeys Pillar is a 150-foot (46 m) sandstone pillar from the late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation next to the Yellowstone River. It has an abundance of Native American petroglyphs, as well as the signature of William Clark, who named the formation after Sacagawea's infant son.[139]

Poverty Point

NPS[140]

Louisiana
32°38′N 91°25′W﻿ / ﻿32.63°N 91.41°W﻿ / 32.63; -91.41﻿ (Poverty Point)

October 31, 1988

910.85 acres (3.7 km2)

Poverty Point is a prehistoric archeological site that dates from between 1650 and 700 BC and consisting of six earthen rings and seven mounds. The diameter of the outside ridge is 0.75 miles (1.21 km), and the largest mound rises 51 feet (16 m).[141] It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2014.[142]

Prehistoric Trackways

BLM

New Mexico
32°21′N 106°54′W﻿ / ﻿32.35°N 106.9°W﻿ / 32.35; -106.9﻿ (Prehistoric Trackways)

March 30, 2009

5,280 acres (21.4 km2)

Prehistoric Trackways contains fossilized footprints of numerous Paleozoic amphibians, reptiles, and insects, as well as fossilized plants and petrified wood dating back approximately 280 million years.[143]

President Lincoln and Soldiers’ Home

AFRH

District of Columbia
38°56′30″N 77°00′42″W﻿ / ﻿38.9416°N 77.0117°W﻿ / 38.9416; -77.0117﻿ (President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home)

July 7, 2000

2.3 acres (0.01 km2)[144]

President Abraham Lincoln and his family resided seasonally on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, which was founded in 1851 for homeless and disabled war veterans. The national monument and visitor center are preserved and operated by President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers’ Home on behalf of the Armed Forces Retirement Home.[145]

Pullman

NPS

Illinois
41°41′28″N 87°36′36″W﻿ / ﻿41.691°N 87.610°W﻿ / 41.691; -87.610﻿ (Pullman National Monument)

February 19, 2015

0.4 acres (0.002 km2)

Built for the Pullman Company, it was the first planned industrial community in the United States as a company town for the Pullman Company that manufactured railroad cars. It was the site of the 1894 Pullman Strike over a cut in resident employee wages.[146]

Rainbow Bridge

NPS

Utah
37°05′N 110°58′W﻿ / ﻿37.08°N 110.96°W﻿ / 37.08; -110.96﻿ (Rainbow Bridge)

May 30, 1910

160 acres (0.6 km2)

110,904

Rainbow Bridge is one of the world's largest natural bridges. It stands 290 feet (88 m) tall and spans 275 feet (84 m) wide; the top of the bridge is 42 feet (13 m) thick and 33 feet (10 m) wide. It was made from sandstone formed during the Triassic and the Jurassic periods.[147]

Río Grande del Norte

BLM

New Mexico
36°40′00″N 105°42′00″W﻿ / ﻿36.66667°N 105.7°W﻿ / 36.66667; -105.7﻿ (Rio Grande del Norte)

March 25, 2013

242,710 acres (982.2 km2)

This site includes part of the Rio Grande Gorge and extinct volcanoes of the Taos Plateau volcanic field. There are a variety of archaeological and historical artifacts including petroglyphs and Hispanic settlement sites. It is home to an assortment of wildlife and recreation opportunities.[60][148]

Rose Atoll Marine

NOAA, FWS

American Samoa
14°33′S 168°32′W﻿ / ﻿14.55°S 168.54°W﻿ / -14.55; -168.54﻿ (Rose Atoll Marine)

January 6, 2009

8,609,045 acres (34,839.6 km2)

This marine monument consists of the two small islands of Rose Atoll, a lagoon, and a coral reef east of American Samoa. It is the southernmost point in the U.S.[112][149][150]

Russell Cave

NPS

Alabama
34°58′N 85°48′W﻿ / ﻿34.97°N 85.80°W﻿ / 34.97; -85.80﻿ (Russell Cave)

May 11, 1961

310.45 acres (1.3 km2)

21,620

Donated by the National Geographic Society, the cave's exceptionally large main entrance was used as a shelter by prehistoric Indians from the earliest known human settlement in the southeastern United States. The rock from which Russell Cave was formed over 300 million years ago at the bottom of an inland sea that covered the region.[151]

Saint Francis Dam Disaster

USFS

California
34°33′N 118°31′W﻿ / ﻿34.55°N 118.51°W﻿ / 34.55; -118.51﻿ (Saint Francis Dam Disaster)

March 12, 2019

353 acres (1.4 km2)

The St. Francis Dam was a 700 ft (210 m)-wide dam that supported a reservoir for Los Angeles's water supply. It catastrophically failed in 1928 and the flood killed at least 431 people. The site now has ruins of the dam's concrete base in a forested valley.[19][106]

Salinas Pueblo Missions

NPS

New Mexico
34°16′N 106°04′W﻿ / ﻿34.26°N 106.06°W﻿ / 34.26; -106.06﻿ (Salinas Pueblo Missions)

November 1, 1909

1,071.42 acres (4.3 km2)

34,629

Formerly known as Gran Quivira National Monument, it is where Native American trade communities of Tiwa- and Tompiro-speaking Puebloans lived when Spanish Franciscan missionaries made contact in the 17th century. What remains are the ruins of four mission churches, at Quarai, Abó, and Gran Quivira, and the partially excavated pueblo of Las Humanas.[152]

San Gabriel Mountains

USFS

California
34°13′N 118°04′W﻿ / ﻿34.22°N 118.06°W﻿ / 34.22; -118.06﻿ (San Gabriel Mountains)

October 10, 2014

345,222 acres (1,397.1 km2)

The San Gabriel mountains in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California have peaks as high as 10,068 ft (3,069 m), providing a habitat for the endangered California condor and Nelson’s bighorn sheep. It is an important watershed and recreation site for the Los Angeles area and contains more than 600 archaeological sites.[153][154]

San Juan Islands

BLM

Washington
48°32′N 123°02′W﻿ / ﻿48.53°N 123.03°W﻿ / 48.53; -123.03﻿ (San Juan Islands)

March 25, 2013

970 acres (3.9 km2)

The rugged landscapes of the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound are the habitat for orcas, eagles, and seals and provide opportunities for kayaking, birdwatching, and other activities. The monument protects numerous small rocks, islands, and points, including the Cattle Point Light.[155][60]

Sand to Snow

BLM, USFS

California
34°05′N 116°41′W﻿ / ﻿34.08°N 116.68°W﻿ / 34.08; -116.68﻿ (Sand to Snow)

February 12, 2016

154,000 acres (623.2 km2)

This monument extends from the Mojave and Sonoran Desert floors up to over 10,000 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains, including the San Gorgonio Wilderness. The site protects 1,700 Native American petroglyphs and other archaeological sites.[56][156][157]

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains

BLM, USFS

California
33°48′N 116°42′W﻿ / ﻿33.80°N 116.70°W﻿ / 33.80; -116.70﻿ (Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains)

October 24, 2000

280,009 acres (1,133.2 km2)

This monument preserves large portions of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto ranges, the northernmost of the Peninsular Ranges. Parts are within San Bernardino National Forest and the California Desert Conservation Area.[158][159]

Scotts Bluff

NPS

Nebraska
41°50′N 103°42′W﻿ / ﻿41.83°N 103.70°W﻿ / 41.83; -103.70﻿ (Scotts Bluff)

December 12, 1919

3,004.73 acres (12.2 km2)

142,028

Scotts Bluff is an important 19th century geologic formation and landmark on the Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail. It contains multiple bluffs on the south side of the North Platte River, but it is named after a prominent bluff called Scotts Bluff which rises more than 830 feet (250 m) above the plains at its highest point. The monument is composed of five rock formations named Crown Rock, Dome Rock, Eagle Rock, Saddle Rock, and Sentinel Rock.[160]

Sonoran Desert

BLM

Arizona
33°00′N 112°28′W﻿ / ﻿33.00°N 112.46°W﻿ / 33.00; -112.46﻿ (Sonoran Desert)

January 17, 2001

486,400 acres (1,968.4 km2)

This monument protects a small portion of the Sonoran Desert. It is home to several federally listed endangered species and also has three wilderness areas, many significant archeological and historic sites, and remnants of several important historic trails.[161]

Statue of Liberty

NPS

New York, New Jersey
40°41′N 74°02′W﻿ / ﻿40.69°N 74.04°W﻿ / 40.69; -74.04﻿ (Statue of Liberty)

October 15, 1924

58.38 acres (0.2 km2)

4,335,431

This iconic statue, built in 1886 on Liberty Island and 151 feet (46 m) tall, commemorates the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence and is a gesture of friendship from France to the U.S. Liberty Enlightening the World is a symbol of welcoming immigrants to the U.S. and is listed as a World Heritage Site. Ellis Island, where 12 million immigrants entering the U.S. passed through, is included in the monument.[162]

Stonewall

NPS

New York
40°44′01″N 74°00′08″W﻿ / ﻿40.73364°N 74.00212°W﻿ / 40.73364; -74.00212﻿ (Stonewall)

June 24, 2016

7.7 acres (0.0 km2)

511,220

The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar in New York City and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Also included is Christopher Street Park, across the street.[163][164]

Sunset Crater Volcano

NPS

Arizona
35°22′N 111°30′W﻿ / ﻿35.36°N 111.50°W﻿ / 35.36; -111.50﻿ (Sunset Crater Volcano)

May 30, 1930

3,040 acres (12.3 km2)

104,583

Sunset Crater is the youngest in a string of volcanoes in the San Francisco volcanic field that is related to the nearby San Francisco Peaks. Final volcanic activity in the 13th century painted the upper portion of the cone with bright red and orange rocks, giving the volcano its name.[165]

Timpanogos Cave

NPS

Utah
40°26′N 111°43′W﻿ / ﻿40.44°N 111.71°W﻿ / 40.44; -111.71﻿ (Timpanogos Cave)

October 14, 1922

250 acres (1.0 km2)

121,311

The Timpanogos cave system is in the Wasatch Range in the American Fork Canyon. Three main chambers are accessible: Hansen Cave, Middle Cave, and Timpanogos Cave. Many colorful cave features or speleothems can be seen, including helictites, cave bacon, cave columns, flowstone, cave popcorn, and cave drapery.[166]

Tonto

NPS

Arizona
33°39′N 111°05′W﻿ / ﻿33.65°N 111.09°W﻿ / 33.65; -111.09﻿ (Tonto)

October 21, 1907

1,120 acres (4.5 km2)

39,822

Lying on the northeastern edge of the Sonoran Desert along the Salt River, Tonto preserves two cliff dwellings that were occupied by the Salado culture during the 13th to 15th centuries. The monument is surrounded by Tonto National Forest.[167]

Tule Lake

NPS, FWS

California
41°53′N 121°22′W﻿ / ﻿41.89°N 121.37°W﻿ / 41.89; -121.37﻿ (Tule Lake)

December 5, 2008

1,391 acres (5.629 km2)

Tule Lake Segregation Center was the largest of ten concentration camps used for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. 29,800 US citizens and immigrants were held there, including those segregated from other camps for political reasons. The site includes the main segregation camp; Camp Tulelake, which was originally a Civilian Conservation Corps work site and later a prisoner-of-war camp and extension of the segregation center; and the Peninsula/Castle Rock bluff. Originally designated as part of World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which was divided and renamed March 12, 2019.[168][19]

Tule Springs Fossil Beds

NPS

Nevada
36°19′N 115°16′W﻿ / ﻿36.32°N 115.27°W﻿ / 36.32; -115.27﻿ (Tule Springs Fossil Beds)

December 19, 2014

22,650 acres (91.7 km2)

A major archaeological site north of Las Vegas where thousands of prehistoric fossils, including mammoth, lion, and camel, have been found in an area that was once a wetland.[169]

Tuzigoot

NPS

Arizona
34°47′N 112°02′W﻿ / ﻿34.79°N 112.04°W﻿ / 34.79; -112.04﻿ (Tuzigoot)

July 25, 1939

811.89 acres (3.3 km2)

98,090

Tuzigoot preserves a two- to three-story pueblo ruin on the summit of a limestone and sandstone ridge in the Verde Valley. It was built by the Sinagua people between 1125 and 1400.[170]

Upper Missouri River Breaks

BLM

Montana
47°47′N 109°01′W﻿ / ﻿47.78°N 109.02°W﻿ / 47.78; -109.02﻿ (Upper Missouri River Breaks)

January 17, 2001

377,346 acres (1,527.1 km2)

A series of badland areas characterized by rock outcroppings, steep bluffs and grassy plains along the 149-mile (240 km) Upper Missouri National Wild and Scenic River in central Montana, The Breaks is home to at least 60 mammal species and hundreds of bird species. Charles Marion Russell often painted here, and Lewis and Clark traveled on this pathway.[171]

Vermilion Cliffs

BLM

Arizona
36°49′N 111°44′W﻿ / ﻿36.81°N 111.74°W﻿ / 36.81; -111.74﻿ (Vermilion Cliffs)

November 9, 2000

279,566 acres (1,131.4 km2)

Steep eroded escarpments consisting primarily of sandstone, siltstone, limestone and shale rise as much as 3,000 feet (910 m) above their base. These sedimentary rocks have been deeply eroded for millions of years, exposing hundreds of layers of richly colored rock strata along Paria Canyon. The Coyote Buttes, across the Paria Plateau from the Canyon and Vermilion Cliffs, include undulating slopes like The Wave.[172]

Virgin Islands Coral Reef

NPS

US Virgin Islands
18°19′N 64°43′W﻿ / ﻿18.31°N 64.72°W﻿ / 18.31; -64.72﻿ (Virgin Islands Coral Reef)

January 17, 2001

12,708.07 acres (51.4 km2)

These coral reefs, sandy sea bottoms, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests are in a 3-mile (4.8 km) marine belt that surrounds St John and Virgin Islands National Park.[173]

Waco Mammoth

NPS

Texas
31°36′22″N 97°10′26″W﻿ / ﻿31.606°N 97.174°W﻿ / 31.606; -97.174﻿ (Waco Mammoth)

July 10, 2015

107.23 acres (0.4 km2)

106,932

The Waco Mammoth National Monument is a paleontological site and museum in Waco, Texas, where fossils of twenty-four Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi) and other mammals from the Pleistocene Epoch have been uncovered. The site is the largest known concentration of a single herd of mammoths dying from the same event, which is believed to have been a flash flood.[26][174]

Walnut Canyon

NPS

Arizona
35°10′N 111°31′W﻿ / ﻿35.17°N 111.51°W﻿ / 35.17; -111.51﻿ (Walnut Canyon)

November 30, 1915

3,529.26 acres (14.3 km2)

167,736

Walnut Canyon protects 25 cliff dwelling rooms constructed by the Sinagua people. It lies on the Colorado Plateau and cuts through the Permian Kaibab Limestone, which exposes the Toroweap Formation and Coconino Sandstone.[175]

White Sands

NPS

New Mexico
32°47′N 106°10′W﻿ / ﻿32.78°N 106.17°W﻿ / 32.78; -106.17﻿ (White Sands)

January 18, 1933

143,703.55 acres (581.5 km2)

603,008

Located in the mountain-ringed Tularosa Basin valley area, White Sands consists of the southern part of a 275-square-mile (710 km2) field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. It is completely within the White Sands Missile Range and is subject to closure when tests are conducted.[176]

Wupatki

NPS

Arizona
35°31′N 111°22′W﻿ / ﻿35.52°N 111.37°W﻿ / 35.52; -111.37﻿ (Wupatki)

December 9, 1924

35,422.13 acres (143.3 km2)

205,122

Many settlement sites built by the Sinagua, Cohonina, and Ancestral Puebloans are scattered throughout the monument. About 2000 Ancient Pueblo People moved here to farm after an 11th century eruption of Sunset Crater.[177]

Yucca House

NPS

Colorado
37°15′N 108°41′W﻿ / ﻿37.25°N 108.69°W﻿ / 37.25; -108.69﻿ (Yucca House)

December 19, 1919

33.87 acres (0.1 km2)

Designated a research national monument, it is a large unexcavated Ancestral Puebloan archeological site. The site is one of many Ancestral Puebloan village sites in the Montezuma Valley occupied between 900 and 1300 CE.[178]

Using the data table for 'List of national monuments of the United States' — "List of national monuments" section, give a one-line statement limited to the highlighted cells and format it within the following JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}.