Updated for 2010, this guide fully describes every official UNESCO World Heritage site. In 1959, UNESCO launched an international campaign to safeguard the world's most important sites, which led to the first World Heritage List. In clear text that highlights all the fascinating facts, this revised edition of World Heritage Sites details all 890 properties, including the 13 new sites added in 2009. Covering 148 countries, the World Heritage List has proved to be a valuable tool in the battle to preserve much of the world's cultural and natural heritage. Its strict criteria result in only the world's most spectacular and extraordinary sites making it onto the list, including: The Statue of Liberty in New York The Rideau Canal in eastern Ontario Waterton Glacier International Peace Park, the world's first international peace park, which straddles the US-Canada border The ancient Nabataean city of Petra in Jordan The remarkable Dazu Rock Carvings in China Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in Missouri, the largest pre- Columbian settlement north of Mexico The unique ecosystem of the Serengeti in Tanzania The new sites added to this edition are: Stoclet House in Belgium The Ruins of Loropeni in Burkina Faso Cidade Velha, the historic center of Ribeira Grande, in Cape Verde Mount Wutai in China Shushtar, a historic hydraulic system in Iran The Dolomites in Italy The royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty in South Korea Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain in Kyrgyzstan The Wadden Sea in Germany and the Netherlands The Sacred City of Caral-Supe in Peru The Tower of Hercules in Spain La Chaux-de-Fonds and le Locle, historic centers of watch-making and town-planning in Switzerland Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal in the United Kingdom Featuring gorgeous photographs and updated maps, World Heritage Sites is uniquely comprehensive. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded in 1945 with the ambitious goal to build peace in the minds of men and women through education, social and natural science, culture and communication.
