Celebrating World Heritage Day in Silicon Valley April 18, 2013

Celebrating World Heritage Day in Silicon Valley April 18, 2013

By Michelle Carr Crowe, Silicon Valley guide and Cupertino real estate agent selling homes in San Jose

World Heritage Day, held annually on April 18, is a time to honor and care for culturally important natural and man-made structures and sites. The idea was for the event was first approved in UNESCO’s General Conference in November 1983.

International Monuments and Sites Day has been traditionally referred to as World Heritage Day. The day celebrates the diversity of heritage throughout the world. 

While the United States boasts 21 different UNESCO World Heritage Sites, only 2 are located in California: Yosemite National Park  and Redwood National and State Parks, just north of San Francisco.

Silicon Valley residents can share in celebrating World Heritage Day by visiting the closest WHS at Redwood National and State Parks. Redwood National Park preserves the largest remaining contiguous ancient coast redwood forest in the world in their original forest and streamside settings, spanning from San Francisco, Calif. to Portland, Oregon. It boasts some of the oldest living redwood trees, some estimated to be 400 years old.

List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the United States

United States of America

1. Mesa Verde National Park
2. Yellowstone National Park
3. Everglades National Park
4. Grand Canyon National Park
5. Independence Hall
6. Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek ^# * ³⁴
7. Redwood National and State Parks
8. Mammoth Cave National Park
9. Olympic National Park
10. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
11. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
12. La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico
13. Statue of Liberty
14. Yosemite National Park ^#
15. Chaco Culture
16. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ^#
17. Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville
18. Taos Pueblo
19. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
20. Waterton Glacier International Peace Park *
21. Papahānaumokuākea

 Read the Redwood National Park informational visitor guide here at 2012 Visitor Guide (PDF, 4.96 MB).