The most famous UNESCO sites. The natural heritage of Russia, marked by UNESCO

At present, the human environment is changing rapidly and at an increasing rate. The task of mankind is to maintain nature on the globe in a condition necessary for life, health and well-being. It is also necessary to preserve, as far as possible, at least the most unique places in nature that are of special value from a scientific point of view, areas that make up areas of valuable or endangered species of plants and animals. There are many unique places in nature, the disappearance of which would be an irreparable loss not only for the country in which they are located, but for all mankind as a whole.In most countries of the world, networks of so-called "specially protected natural areas" (SPNA) have been created for these purposes. These include the following natural objects:

Nizhnesvirsky Nature Reserve, Leningrad Region

Reserves are created with the aim of preserving or restoring some or all of the components of nature and to maintain the overall ecological balance. Some types of economic activity are limited in these territories.

Gladyshevsky reserve, Leningrad region

Natural monuments are small territories, including objects of natural value: caves, rocks, waterfalls, groves of rare tree species, river valleys, lakes, etc.

Natural monument "Hawk Lake", Leningrad region

Natural parks serve to protect natural complexes of ecological, historical and aesthetic value. They are staffed with special staff.

Veppsky Forest Nature Park, Leningrad Region

B Have you ever visited one of the protected areas? What do you remember about this place?

In these territories, people preserve both rare, unique and typical areas of forests, swamps, meadows, reservoirs and other natural ecosystems, rare and common species of plants and animals in their natural habitat, bird flight paths, fish spawning routes and others. natural objects and processes.

All the nature of our planet is priceless and unique. Of course, it is difficult to single out some of the most outstanding and valuable corners of nature of “exceptional importance” from the natural areas subject to special protection, which are vitally necessary to preserve for the present and future generations. This is the subject of a special UNESCO program, which is the so-called World Heritage List.

The UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage entered into force in 1975. Its main goal is to attract the forces of the world community to preserve unique objects of culture and nature. By mid-2012, the total number of countries participating in the Convention had already reached 189. Among the international programs of UNESCO, this program is the most representative. In order to improve the efficiency of the work of the Convention, the Committee and the World Heritage Fund were formed in 1976.

World natural heritage is made up of mountains, volcanoes, lakes, rivers, islands, forests, caves, reefs, national parks, nature reserves, wildlife sanctuaries.

Of course, being on a par with the universally recognized world pearls of nature and culture is honorable and prestigious, but at the same time it is a great responsibility. To receive World Heritage status, an object must be of outstanding universal value, undergo a thorough expert assessment. At the same time, the nominated natural object must meet at least one of the following four criteria:

Include unique natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic value;

Present outstanding examples of the main stages of the history of the Earth, including traces of ancient life, serious geological processes that continue to occur in the development of the forms of the earth's surface, significant geomorphological or physiographic features of the relief;

Present outstanding examples of important ongoing ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals;

Include natural areas of great importance for the conservation of their biological diversity, including areas of endangered species that are of outstanding scientific or conservation value.

The status of a world natural heritage site provides additional guarantees for the safety and integrity of unique natural complexes, increases the prestige of the territories, promotes the popularization of objects and the development of alternative types of nature management, and ensures priority in attracting financial resources.

The first cultural and natural sites were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List two years after the creation of the program. Of the natural areas, the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), the national parks Yellowstone (USA), Nahanni (Canada) and Seamen (Ethiopia) received heritage status. Over the past years, the List has become very representative both in terms of the regions of the planet represented and in terms of the number of objects: by mid-2012, it already included 188 natural objects. Most of them are located in the USA and Australia (more than 10 objects in each country). Under the protection of the Convention are such world-famous natural monuments as the Great Barrier Reef, the Hawaiian Islands, the Grand Canyon, Mount Kilimanjaro. Video 62.

In Russia, the initiator of the inclusion of natural objects in the World Heritage List is primarily Greenpeace. By joining this UNESCO program, a new page was opened in the field of nature protection in Russia.

Russian World Natural Heritage Sites

There are inaccuracies on the map, since at the moment 11 objects are already included in the list, including the Putorana Plateau and the Lena Pillars Natural Park. The first in our country to receive the status of a world natural heritage site in 1995 was a natural complex called "Virgin Komi Forests".

The territory of this object is the largest of the remaining massifs of primary forests in Europe, the appearance of which is almost not changed by human influence. Video 63.

The virgin forests of Komi are a real taiga treasury. There are more than 40 species of mammals here (including brown bear, sable, elk), 204 species of birds (including the white-tailed eagle and osprey listed in the Red Book of Russia), 16 species of fish, the most valuable of which are considered glacial relics - char palia and Siberian grayling.

This territory stretches along the western slope of the Subpolar and Northern Urals for more than 300 km. The Ural mountain system has a significant impact on the climate. In places, natural complexes form a complex mosaic: along narrow river valleys, taiga vegetation rises high into the mountains.

The main tree species - spruce and fir - are accompanied by Siberian cedar. Here it originates and receives the crystal clear tributaries of the Pechora. Now the territory of the World Heritage Site "Virgin Komi Forests" is in danger due to illegal gold mining unfolding here (1).Greenpeace Russia and other non-governmental organizations will fight to stop any nature-destroying activity on its territory.

Lake Baikal

Baikal is one of the greatest lakes on the planet, a lake of "superlatives": the deepest (1637 meters), the oldest (about 25 million years), with the most diverse flora and fauna among fresh water bodies. Video 64.

The lake has a unique fresh water supply in terms of volume and quality - more than 20% of the world's reserves). The Baikal depression is the central link of the Baikal rift zone, one of the largest ancient fault systems on Earth. The lake, together with its entire basin, is a peculiar and very fragile natural ecosystem that provides the natural process of formation of the purest waters. For Siberia, the climate of the Baikal coasts is comparatively mild. For example, the number of sunny days a year here is higher than in many Black Sea resorts.One of the richest and most unusual freshwater fauna in the world, which is of exceptional value for studying evolutionary processes, has formed in the isolated Baikal depression since ancient times.

Of the more than 2,630 species and subspecies of animals and plants found so far in the lake, more than 80% are found nowhere else in the world. Who has not heard of the famous Baikal omul or Baikal sturgeon? Two unique species of viviparous fish, representatives of the family endemic (2) for Baikal, the big and small golomyanka, are known to ichthyologists all over the world. The pyramid of the lake ecosystem is crowned by a mammal of typically marine origin - the seal, or the Baikal seal.

Unfortunately, the unique nature of Baikal is under threat (3).

With Have you heard about the actions that the public is taking to protect Lake Baikal from pollution by the pulp and paper mill?

Another danger for Baikal is the planned development of deposits, illegal logging, forest fires, poaching, and oil spills.

Volcanoes of Kamchatka

The Kamchatka Peninsula is located at the junction of tectonic plates in a zone of active volcanism, where modern natural processes and the history of our planet are inseparable. Video 65.

Here, in a limited area, 30 active and about 300 extinct volcanoes are concentrated, as well as more than 150 groups of thermal and mineral springs. Dozens of geysers, hot springs, fumaroles (4), cascades of waterfalls, sharp peaks of ridges, mud pots and turquoise lakes, carpets of colorful algae give a fabulous look to the famous Valley of Geysers

The richest life is represented in the seas washing the coast of Kamchatka. Here are the growth zones of king crab larvae, salmon spawning places and their juveniles rolling into the sea. From summer to the beginning of winter, an amazing natural phenomenon can be observed on the rivers of the peninsula: millions of salmon in a continuous mass move along the rivers against the current to their spawning grounds.

Golden Mountains of Altai

The nature of this mountainous territory, located at the junction of Central Asia and Siberia, is distinguished by its bright originality. There are few places in the world with such a contrasting combination of different landscapes in such a small space. Video 66.

The flora and fauna of the region are diverse and in many ways unique. Here, the most significant subalpine and alpine meadows in terms of area in the mountains of Siberia. The color of the vegetation of the Southern Altai, where semi-deserts, steppes and tundra coexist, is also unique. The diversity of landscapes contributed to the emergence and preservation of endemics in Altai, often occupying very small areas. Among the rare species of mammals, the snow leopard should be singled out; this is one of the most beautiful cats in the world fauna. Very few of these animals have survived in Altai.

The geological history of the region is unique, “recorded” in the rocks of different ages that make it up and imprinted in unusual landforms. Such, for example, are the high terraces of the Katun River, striking in their grandeur. The grandiose Mount Belukha is the highest peak in Siberia (4506 meters). The Altai river valleys are narrow deep canyons.

The diversity of nature has left its mark on the culture and religion of the indigenous population of this territory - the Altaians. The achievements of Altai traditional medicine are highly valued. As the outstanding philosopher, writer, traveler H.K. Roerich, "many peoples passed through Altai and left traces: Scythians, Huns, Turks." Gorny Altai is called an open-air museum.

Western Caucasus

The western part of the Greater Caucasus in terms of the diversity of flora and fauna, their preservation is unparalleled not only in the Caucasus region, but also among other mountainous regions of Europe and Western Asia. Video 67.

This is the area where a large number of endangered rare, endemic and relic species of plants and animals. It is especially important that the little-altered habitat of the most vulnerable large mammals has been preserved here: bison, Caucasian red deer, Western Caucasian tur, chamois, Caucasian subspecies of brown bear, wolf and others.

The Caucasian reserve is practically the only habitat of the mountain bison in the world; outside this territory, it is almost completely exterminated by poachers.

The territory is rich in picturesque objects: powerful waterfalls, pointed mountain peaks (up to 3360 meters), turbulent mountain rivers with clear water, clear mountain lakes, huge trees (majestic firs up to 85 meters high and more than 2 meters in diameter), rare plants (orchids, etc.). .) and many others. An invaluable unique natural complex has been preserved in the Western Caucasus.

curonian spit

The relief of this territory, located in the Kaliningrad region, is unique. A continuous strip of sand dunes 0.3 - 1 km wide, some of which are close to the highest in the world (up to 68 m), stretches along the peninsula for 70 km. Video 68.

Due to its geographic location and orientation from northeast to southwest, the spit serves as a "guide line" for birds of many species migrating from the northwestern regions of Russia, Finland and the Baltic countries to the countries of Central and Southern Europe. Every year in spring and autumn 10 - 20 million birds fly over the spit, a significant part of which stops here for rest and feeding. Among the birds flying here are many rare and endangered species listed in the Red Books of Russia, Europe and the world.

It is especially interesting that the spit is rich in cultural heritage sites. These are defensive structures unique in their scale, extremely valuable from the point of view of history, science and art; fishermen's settlements harmoniously integrated into the landscape; archaeological sites and monuments of religious architecture. The many-sided dune relief of the Curonian Spit, combined with the greenery of forests, the whiteness of sandy beaches and the boundless blue of the Baltic Sea, has a high aesthetic value.

Central Sikhote-Alin

This territory, located in the south of the Far East within Russia, is one of the largest and least human-modified centers of preservation of communities of ancient coniferous-deciduous and broad-leaved forests. Video 69.

It presents a lot of rare and endangered animal species, a significant part of which is preserved only within its boundaries. The mountainous country of Sikhote-Alin is the last large integral territory in the world inhabited by the Amur tiger. Many other rare and endangered plant and animal species endemic to the region also need protection.

Picturesque landforms, full-flowing rivers, combined with an exceptional variety of flora and fauna, the presence of exotic plants and animals reminiscent of the tropics, give the nature of Sikhote-Alin completely unique features. There are many objects of aesthetic and recreational significance here: rock massifs, picturesquely standing out among the taiga, waterfalls, lakes and rapids, reefs, sandy bays on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan.

Ubsunur basin

The Ubsunur basin, located on the territory of Mongolia and Russia, is one of the most original and unusual places in Central Asia. Video 70.

This region has preserved a unique complex of neighboring, closely interacting, extremely contrasting ecosystems - from the taiga to the desert. Glaciers, snowfields, mountain tundra of the alpine belt and subalpine meadows turn into a vast mountain taiga belt, which gives way to forest-steppe, steppe, semi-desert and even loose sandy ridges, creating a natural phenomenon of exceptional beauty and diversity. It is impossible to see such diverse landscapes in such close proximity anywhere else in Eurasia. An unusually high species richness for temperate latitudes reigns in this territory.

Relative sparsely populated territory, the absence of industrial facilities make it possible to preserve the basin as a natural laboratory for the study of biospheric processes

However, the value of the territory lies not only in the unique nature of the Ubsunur basin. Of great importance are the objects of cultural heritage located here - archaeological monuments, many of which have not been studied so far. Nowhere else in Central Asia are barrows found in such a concentration as here (according to a rough estimate, there are up to 20 thousand of them); most of them are older than the Egyptian pyramids. Thousands of rock paintings and stone sculptures, the remains of medieval settlements and Buddhist chapels form a unique natural and cultural landscape.

The natural system of the reserve "Wrangel Island"»

The Wrangel Island Reserve is located on the border of the East Siberian and Chukchi Seas on the Wrangel and Herald Islands with a 12-mile sea area adjacent to them. Video 71.

The 180th meridian passes through Wrangel Island, so that the island lies in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres. The relief is predominantly mountainous, strongly dissected, with coastal lowlands in the north and south. There are 1400 rivers and streams on the island, about 900 small lakes. A unique combination of natural-historical and landscape-climatic conditions, as well as inaccessibility, have led to a large number of endemic, rare and relict plant species on the islands. On the islands, as parts of the ancient land that once united the Eurasian and North American continents, both Euro-Asian and American species of flora and fauna are widely represented.

Putorana Plateau

The plateau is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. It is a large basaltic plateau, located on the northern limit of the taiga and almost completely unaffected by human economic activity. Video 72. Unusual and extremely interesting are the trap relief forms (5), crossed by huge canyons. The scale and number of waterfalls are impressive (the highest concentration in Russia). Here is a 108 m high waterfall - one of the highest in our country. There are many lakes on the plateau with depths up to 400 m, lake fjords are very picturesque.More than 1300 plant species have been recorded on the Putorana Plateau. Here is the northern limit of the distribution of flying squirrel, lynx, sable, stone capercaillie. The migration route of the world's largest population of wild reindeer, the Taimyr one, runs through the plateau. A little-studied, extremely interesting local form of the bighorn sheep also lives here.

Lena Pillars

The Lena Pillars Natural Park is located in Central Yakutia, in the middle reaches of the Lena River. Video 73.

The park got its name because of the unique ridge of rocks - fabulous stone sculptures in the form of pillars and towers stretch along the banks of the Lena for tens of kilometers. Some are up to 100 meters high. This natural monument is composed of Cambrian limestones - a rock that was formed more than 500 million years ago.

In addition, in the park there are small areas of the desert landscape - unique permafrost ecosystems, as well as waving sands-tukulans - isolated and independently developing sandy ridges with slopes practically not fixed by vegetation. In the area of ​​the Lena Pillars, scientists discovered burials of bone remains of ancient fauna: mammoth, bison, Lena horse, woolly rhinoceros.

21 species of rare and endangered "Red Book" plants grow in the park. In the basin of the middle reaches of the Lena River, the fish fauna includes 31 species. Nesting of 101 species of birds has been established in the park. Animals such as sable, brown bear, squirrel, elk, red deer, chipmunk, musk deer, mountain-forest form of wild reindeer are common here.

Work to continue the inclusion of new areas in the World Heritage List continues. According to the rules, nominations for consideration by the World Heritage Committee must first be included in the national Tentative List. They are presented on the World Natural Heritage map of Russia (see above).

Obviously, the effective protection of such territories is impossible without the active involvement of public organizations, as many citizens of the country as possible. Let us remember that we have an individual and collective responsibility for the preservation of natural complexes.

Read the resolution of the International NGO Forum on World Heritage Sites (6).

What can we, the people of Russia, do to support the conservation and development of specially protected natural areas?

Each of these places is unique in its own way, and all together they function, making up the unity and integrity of the life support system on the Planet. They create its unique, still far from fully unraveled and known appearance.

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There are 27 sites on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India (as of 2008). Contents 1 List 2 Candidates for inscription on the World Heritage List ... Wikipedia

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• World heritage of Russia. Book 1. Architecture, Sirotkina Alla. The book tells about the cultural monuments of Russia included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Their description and history is given. Each object is represented by at least 25-30 photographs,…
• World heritage of Russia. Book 2. Nature. Photoalbum, Sirotkina A.. The books tell about the cultural and natural monuments of Russia, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The first volume - 14 architectural, the second volume - 12 natural objects. They are given…

SECO is the specialized agency of the United Nations for education, science and culture. The UNESCO World Heritage List includes the most valuable objects (both natural and man-made) in terms of their cultural, historical or environmental significance. Here are twenty unique UNESCO sites located in Europe.

20 PHOTOS

1 Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia.

Forest reserve in Central Croatia, famous for its cascading lakes, waterfalls, caves and limestone gorges.

2 Red Square, Moscow, Russia.

The most famous square in Russia, located to the east of the Kremlin - the official residence of the president. On Red Square are St. Basil's Cathedral and the State Historical Museum.

3 Vlkolinec village, Slovakia.

A well-preserved ethnographic village, which is included in the list of museums of folk architecture in Slovakia. The settlement reflects the traditional features of the Central European village: log buildings, stables with hayloft and a wooden bell tower.

4 Rila Monastery, Bulgaria.

The largest and most famous Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria, founded in the 10th century and rebuilt in the mid-1800s.

5 Natural-historical complex of Mont-Saint-Michel, France.

A fortified island Gothic abbey built between the 11th and 16th centuries in northwestern France.

6 Monastery of Alcobaça, Portugal.

Roman Catholic church located north of Lisbon. It was built by the Portuguese king Alfonso I in the 12th century.

7 Budapest: The banks of the Danube, the castle hill in Buda and Andrássy Avenue.

The central part of the Hungarian capital boasts such stunning masterpieces of architecture as the Parliament building, the opera house, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Market Hall.

8 Peace Churches in Jawor and Swidnica, Poland.

The largest wooden sacred buildings in Europe, built in the second half of the 17th century after the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War.

9. Stave Church in Urnes, Norway.

The stave church, located in western Norway, is an excellent example of traditional Scandinavian architecture.

10. Pavement of giants, Ireland.

A monument of nature, consisting of approximately 40,000 interconnected basalt columns, formed as a result of an ancient volcanic eruption.

11. Pont du Gard Aqueduct, France

The highest surviving ancient Roman aqueduct. It is 275 meters long and 47 meters high.

12. Pilgrimage Church in Wies, Germany

Rococo Bavarian church located in a beautiful alpine valley southwest of Munich.

13. Fjords of Western Norway, Norway.

Geirangerfjord and Nordfjord, located in southwestern Norway, are among the longest and deepest fjords in the world.

14. Vatican, Italy.

The center of Catholic Christianity, and the residence of the Pope. Also in the Vatican Museums are stored many of the world's artistic masterpieces.

15. Millennial Benedictine monastery in Pannonhalma, Hungary.

The monastic community and one of the oldest historical monuments in Hungary was founded in 996.

16. Pirin National Park, Bulgaria.

National park with an area of ​​403 sq. km, located on three belts of vegetation: mountain-forest, subalpine and alpine.

17. Grand Place, Brussels. 18. Old Bridge area in the historic center of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Old Bridge, built in the 16th century during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, is one of the most significant architectural monuments in the Balkans.

19. Glacial fjord Ilulissat, Denmark.

A fjord located in western Greenland, 250 km north of the Arctic Circle. It includes the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier moving at 19 meters per day, one of the fastest glaciers in the world.

20. Palace of Catalan Music, Barcelona, ​​Spain.

Famous concert hall, which is one of the best examples of Catalan Art Nouveau. It is also the only concert hall in Europe with natural light.

During the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee, which is taking place these days in Cambodia, the UNESCO World Heritage List was replenished with 19 new items - these are 14 cultural and 5 natural sites. In addition, the boundaries of three objects were expanded.

To date, the World Heritage List has 981 sites in 160 member countries of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage - 759 cultural, 193 natural and 29 mixed sites. During the 37th session, which will last until June 27, 5 natural objects of Europe, Asia, South America and Africa were added to the list.

Natural objects:

Tajik National Park "Pamir Mountains" (Tajikistan)

"Pamir Mountains" is the first natural site of Tajikistan in the World Heritage List. The total area of ​​the park is over 2.5 million hectares. It is located in the east of Tajikistan, in the center of the so-called Pamir mountain junction, from which the highest mountain ranges of Eurasia diverge. Alpine plateaus are located in the eastern part of the object, and pointed peaks are located in the western part, the height of some of them exceeds 7 thousand meters. There are 170 rivers, over 400 lakes and at least 1,085 glaciers, including the longest mountain valley glacier outside the polar regions. The park also serves as a habitat for rare and endangered species of birds and mammals in Tajikistan.

For example, the Marco Polo mountain sheep (Ovis ammon polii), the snow leopard irbis and the Siberian mountain goat live here. Since strong earthquakes are not uncommon in this area, the territory of the park is sparsely populated and practically does not experience the influence of agriculture and permanent settlements. The park provides unique opportunities for studying the overlay and plate tectonics of the earth's crust.

El Pinacate Biosphere Reserve and Gran Desierto de Altar (Mexico)

The object with a total area of ​​714,566 hectares consists of two separate parts. To the east is a rocky desert and a hardened volcanic plateau formed by black and red lava flows, to the west is the Gran Desierto de Altar desert with a variety of dunes constantly changing shape, some of which reach 200 m in height. Dunes of various shapes wandering here - linear, star-shaped and domed - are adjacent to dry granite massifs up to 650 m high, which, like islands, rise against the background of the sandy sea, enhancing the amazing contrasts of this area. The massifs contain astonishingly diverse communities of plants and animals, including some endemic species, such as the pronghorn Antilocapra americana sonoriensis, which lives only in the north of the Sonoran Desert and in the southwest of Arizona, USA.

Another distinctive feature of the object, emphasizing its exceptional beauty, are 10 huge deep craters, almost perfectly round, formed, presumably, as a result of eruptions and collapses. The unique combination of the characteristics of the object determines not only its beauty, but is also of great scientific interest.

Mount Etna (Italy)

The 19,237 hectare property includes an uninhabited area located at the highest point of Mount Etna on the east coast of Sicily. Etna is the highest island mountain in the Mediterranean and the most active stratovolcano in the world. It has been established that the history of the eruptions of this volcano has 500 thousand years, and there is documentary evidence of the volcanic activity of Etna for at least the last 2700 years. The almost continuous volcanic activity of Etna continues to influence the development of volcanology, geophysics and other earth sciences. The volcano determines the basis for the existence of important terrestrial ecosystems and some endemic plant and animal species.

Etna's activity has turned it into a natural laboratory for the study of ecological and biological processes. With a range of diverse and observable volcanic features, such as summit craters, ash cones, a lava sheet, and a caldera known as the Valley of the Buffaloes (Valle de Bove), the site has become an important site for research and educational activities.

Namib Desert (Namibia)

The site, which is the world's only coastal desert, includes an area of ​​more than 3 million hectares and a buffer zone of 899,500 hectares. There are vast dune fields formed under the influence of fogs, and two dune systems stand out: on top of the old, semi-fixed sands, there are younger mobile dunes. The peculiarity of the object is that its dunes are formed by sand brought by rivers, ocean currents and wind from areas located thousands of kilometers away from the coast.

The property also contains coastal lowlands and pebbly fields, rocky hills rising above the sands, coastal lagoons, dry rivers and other landscapes that combine to create an exceptionally beautiful spectacle. The main source of water in the Namib Desert is fog, which has created a completely unique environment in which endemic species of invertebrates, reptiles and mammals live, able to adapt to constant changes in the microclimate and ecological niches.

Xinjiang - Tien Shan (China)

The object with a total area of ​​606,833 hectares includes several parts: Tomur Peak (Pobeda Peak), Kalajun Steppe, Syuelin Ridge, Bayanbruk Nature Reserve and Bogdo-Ula. They are part of the world's largest mountain system, the Tien Shan, located in Central Asia. Xinjiang - Tien Shan has unique physical and geographical characteristics and is distinguished by picturesque landscapes, including amazing mountain peaks crowned with snow and ice, forests and meadows that have not been touched by a human hand, transparent rivers and lakes, red rock canyons. Next to them are vast desert territories, which creates a vivid visual contrast between the zones of heat and cold, dry and humid climate, desert and abundance of life.

The relief and ecosystems of the object have come down to us since the Pliocene epoch and represent a unique monument of continuous biological and ecological evolutionary processes. The site also includes part of one of the world's largest alpine deserts, Takla Makan, famous for its giant dunes and violent sandstorms. In addition, Xinjiang - Tien Shan serves as an important habitat for endemic and relic plant species, some of which are rare and endangered.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has added 19 new sites to its list of World Heritage Sites.
New features include a mountain range in Mexico, mountains in France, a cathedral in Germany and a forest in Canada.
These places are listed as protected areas for future generations.
The World Heritage Committee announced this last week after a meeting in Bahrain.
The committee selects sites around the world that need to maintain their cultural, historical or scientific significance. The list already includes the Indian Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu in Peru and many more
Once a location is specified, it receives legal protection under international treaties.

Check out the amazing places around the world that have been added to the list.

1. Colombia's Chiribiquete National Park is a new entrant. The park has a huge variety of plants found in the Amazon Valley.

Chiribiquete has been a national park since 1989. Only a small part of the park has been studied, as it is difficult to access, but it is known that there is also a diverse wildlife from jaguars to hummingbirds.

The park contains rock art in 60 caves, which is approximately 20,000 years old.

2. China's Fanjingsan Mountain has been added to the list due to its beauty and biodiversity. A mountain up to 2570 meters above sea level, which is home to a number of endangered species.

Fangjingsan is home to plant species that originated 65 million years ago, as well as waterfalls.

3. Buddhist mountain monasteries in Shanghai consist of seven temples built from the 7th to 9th centuries.

These sacred monasteries have survived for centuries.

4. The Spanish Caliphate city of Medina Azahara, an architectural site dating back to the 11th century, was once the site of the Caliphate of Cordoba.

The city has been open to tourists since the beginning of the 20th century.

5. Aasivissuit-Nipisat hunting ground in Greenland The area "contains evidence of 4,200 years of human history."

The Arctic territories contain archaeological sites.

6. Germany's Naumburg Cathedral is "an outstanding testament to medieval art and architecture," according to UNESCO. Part of the cathedral dates back to the 13th century.

7. The island of Kyushu in Japan's Nagasaki Prefecture contains a settlement built by the first Christian settlers in Japan between the 16th and 19th centuries.

8. Göbekli Tepe in Turkey contains ancient sites established by hunting tribes between 9,600 and 8,200 BC.

9. The Tehuacan-Cuycatlán Valley in Mexico has the richest biodiversity in all of North America and a large number of endangered cacti, as well as archaeological sites.

10. Chaine des Puys - 80 dormant volcanoes in the center of France stretch for 40 kilometers. Visitors can take a train to the highest peak.

11. The South African Barberton Mahonwa Mountains "represent the best preserved remains of volcanic and sedimentary rocks from 3.6 to 3.25 billion years ago, when the first continents began to form on primitive Earth."

12. The archaeological site of Hedeby in Germany has the remains of a trading town with traces of roads, buildings, cemeteries and a harbor.

13. Pimahiowin Aki Forest in China has rivers, lakes, wetlands and forest. It is part of the ancestral home of Anishinabeg, an indigenous people.

14. The Italian city of Ivrea is an industrial city designed by leading Italian urban planners and architects, mainly from the 1930s to the 1960s. UNESCO believes that the city "expresses a modern vision of the relationship between industrial production and architecture."

15. UNESCO has recognized a series of eight archaeological sites in Iran for the way they show the influence that Achaemenid, Parthian and Roman traditions had in the Islamic era.

16. Mumbai's Victorian Gothic and Art Deco architecture. A row of Art Deco apartment buildings along the shores of the Arabian Sea can be seen in the picture below.

17. According to UNESCO, Kenya's archaeological site at Thimlich Ohinga was probably built in the 16th century. The settlements appear to have served as a fort for communities and livestock. The place, the organization says, is "the largest and finest of these traditional buildings."

18. On the east coast of Oman, the ancient city of Qalhat was a major port city between the 11th and 15th centuries AD. "Today it has unique archaeological evidence of trade links between the east coast of Arabia, East Africa, India, China and Southeast Asia," UNESCO said in a statement.

Al Ahsa from Saudi Arabia is the largest oasis in the world. With 2.5 million date palms, the area has been home to people from the Neolithic era to the present day.