UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 2nd Session Quiz

Answer: Galapagos Islands

One of the first ecological sites added to the UNESCO World Heritage listing, the Galapagos Islands (part of Ecuador) were visited by Charles Darwin, traveling aboard The Beagle, in the 1850s. Home to the Galapagos tortoise, marine iguanas, and several endemic species of birds, the islands were created by volcanic activity (some of which is active) and remain an important scientific research spot for geological reasons. For many years, as a biosphere reserve, the islands were considered endangered by human influence and global warning (among other things).

It has since tightened regulations to save its local wildlife while still promoting eco-tourism.

Answer: Quito

Quito and its Historical Center became UNESCO Sites as part of the first inscription session in 1978. Preserved for decades, the site is a hotbed for cultural and political history. Home to the government-run Carondelet Palace, the Basilica del Voto Nacional, and several churches, it's within a short distance of the Equator and Cotopaxi National Park. Lima's Historic Centre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988-- ten years after Quito fronted the list.

Answer: Yellowstone National Park

Situated on the Continental Divide, Yellowstone National Park was established in the early 1870s and has since become one of the top-visited parks in all of the United States. Found in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, Yellowstone is home to Old Faithful, perhaps the world's most reliable and most famous geyser. That's not to say that geysers are the only feature of the geothermal/volcanic hotspot-- it's also home to beautiful vistas, canyons, forests, and lakes. For many years the site was considered endangered due to the overwhelming amount of tourists visiting the site for recreation and sightseeing but with proper conservation effort to protect the land and its native wildlife, it's been properly preserved.

Answer: Gorée

Although Gorée has a sordid history as an Atlantic slave island, its current state is much brighter. Now a department of Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, Gorée is home to hundreds of citizens who support its local tourism (museums dedicated to the slave trade) and communities.

The slave house found here was established by the French in the eighteenth century and ended quite abruptly before 1800 when the French Revolution was held. The island is now well-preserved for historical and cultural reasons.

While citizens and visitors can travel by ferry, there are no motorized vehicles allowed on Gorée, partly because its streets are too narrow for cars.

Answer: L'Anse aux Meadows

Settled over one thousand years ago by Norsemen, the site at L'Anse aux Meadows is considered one of the earliest points of landfall for European settlers in North America. Uncovered in the early 1960s, what can be found at this UNESCO Site is a rudimentary living space, well-preserved since the 1970s (after the addition of the site to the UNESCO list), overlooking the North Atlantic. Early records cited the location of a settlement on Vinland and it is hypothesized that this may have been it. Columbus wouldn't set sail for the Americas for another five centuries and the country wouldn't be colonized for a few decades after that.

Another UNESCO Site added in Canada in this year was Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Northwest Territories-- quite a way away.

Answer: Simien Mountains National Park

Of all of the National Parks in Africa, it may come as a surprise that this lesser-known spot hiding in the northwestern corner of Ethiopia would be chosen for protection on the UNESCO roster in its first year. This ecological hotspot, however, is home to many endangered species from primates to birds as well as sunny vistas, jagged cliffsides, lush valleys, and miraculous canyons. Ras Dashen, once a volcano, is Ethipoia's highest point; it's in the park. Affected by millennia of erosion, the park is more threatened nowadays by locals.

While much of the land isn't usable for farming (since it's mostly mountains and canyons), human influence may always leave it at risk. The other UNESCO site added in Ethiopia in 1978 was the Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela.

Answer: Wieliczka Salt Mine

A unique location found over one thousand feet below Poland and stretching through a labyrinthine three hundred kilometers, the Wieliczka Salt Mine was first excavated over seven hundred years ago and, to this day, supplies a great deal of salt. At the same time, the Wieliczka Salt Mine is a major tourist spot, mainly because some of its tunnels and chambers have been reconstituted in interesting ways.

A cathedral found in its depths, for instance, contains a rock wall carded into "The Last Supper" and a salt-made chandelier polished into crystalline.

The tunnels are also lined with statues of famous people, all made of salt.

Answer: Mesa Verde National Park

Established as a National Park in 1906, Mesa Verde National Park saw its induction into the UNESCO List over seventy years later due to its cultural significance, particularly because of its rich history as a city for the Ancient Pueblo peoples of the Southwestern United States. Mesa Verda, to this day, contains homes carved into the side of a cliff, preserved for nearly a millennium. Archaeologists have since found several artifacts at the site, all deepening our knowledge of the people who once made it their home. Mesa Verde is quite a distance away from Colorado's capital, Denver, which is in the center of the state.

Instead, you'd be quicker getting there from New Mexico, or Utah, or Arizona; it's right in the southwest corner of the state.

Answer: Kraków

The second of only two cities to have their Old Town Centre added to the list (they would be followed by Dubrovnik, Cairo, and Tunis in 1979), Krakow contains one of the largest medieval historic squares anywhere in Europe. Home to countless Gothic churches, universities, museums, and points of cultural interest, the city was once walled in but it has since been opened up. Meticulously designed, this part of Krakow is laid out in a grid near the Wawel Royal Castle.

It's also on the edge of the Vistula River.

Answer: Aachen Cathedral

Although all of the options are very old religious structures in Germany, only Aachen Cathedral dates back before 1000 AD. Found in the town of Aachen, it was once the most important church in the country, home to the coronation of dozens of German monarchs.

It also became the final resting place of the first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne, in the ninth century. As such, the cathedral takes many nods from Holy Roman architecture and style, embellished by later flourishes of Gothic influence. Aachen is Germany's westernmost city; you can see the border between both the Netherlands and Belgium from within.