 National Monuments of the United States
Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah
Author: LeavXC (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)
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National Monuments are area protected by executive order of the President of the United States, or by legislation of the United States Congress. They are sites which the president has proclaimed as being historic landmarks, historic and/or prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest, in accordance to the Antiquities Act of 1906. Unlike national parks, the president can quickly declare a site to be a United States National Monument without getting the approval of Congress. On the other hand it receives less funding and afford fewer protection than national parks.
Devil's Tower, Wyoming
Author: Zimbres (public domain)
The history of designating a site as a National Monument goes back to 1906, when President Theodore Roosevelt established Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first such entity in the face of an unconcerned Congress. He felt that Congress was moving too slowly and Devils Tower would be destroyed before it became a national park.
Within his term of office, Roosevelt designated 18 national monuments, though only nine still retain the designation. In addition, fifteen other presidents have also created national monuments - only Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush have not. Bill Clinton created the most, nineteen, and expanded on three existing ones.
As of 1 January, 2011, there are 100 National Monuments of the United States of America. They are listed below, along with the date of their formation:
- Admiralty Island National Monument, Alaska (1 December, 1978)
- African Burial Ground National Monument, New York (27 February, 2006)
- Agate Fossils Bed National Monument, Nebraska (14 June, 1997)
- Agua Fria National Monument, Arizona (11 January, 2000)
- Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, Texas (21 August, 1965)
- Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, Alaska (1 December, 1978)
- Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico (24 January, 1923)
- Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico (11 February, 1916)
- Booker T. Washington National Monument, Virginia (2 April, 1956)
- Buck Island Reef National Monument, US Virgin Islands (28 December, 1961)
- Cabrillo National Monument, California (14 October, 1913)
- California Coastal National Monument, California (11 January, 2000)
- Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona (1 April, 1931)
- Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado (9 June, 2000)
- Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Archaeological District, Alaska (1 December, 1978)
- Capulin Volcano National Monument, New Mexico (9 August, 1916)
- Carrizo Plain National Monument, California (12 January, 2001)
- Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Arizona (3 August, 1918)
- Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, Oregon (9 June, 2000)
- Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Florida (15 October, 1924)
- Castle Clinton National Monument, New York (12 August, 1946)
- Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah (22 August, 1993)
- Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona (18 April, 1924)
- Colorado National Monument, Colorado (24 May, 1911)
- Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho (2 May, 1924)
- Devils Postpile National Monument, California (6 May, 1911)
- Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming (24 September, 1906)
- Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado/Utah (4 October, 1915)
- Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa (25 october, 1949)
- El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico (31 December, 1987)
- El Morro National Monument, New Mexico (8 December, 1906)
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Colorado (20 August, 1969)
- Fort Frederica National Monument, Georgia (26 May, 1936)
- Fort Matanzas National Monument, Florida (15 October, 1924)
- Fort McHenry National Monument, Maryland (3 March, 1925)
- Fort Pulaski National Monument, Georgia (15 October, 1924)
- Fort Stanwix National Monument, New York (21 August, 1935)
- Fort Sumter National Monument, South Carolina (28 April, 1948)
- Fort Union National Monument, New Mexico (5 April 1956)
- Fossil Butte National Monument, Wyoming (23 October, 1972)
- George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Virginia (23 January, 1930)
- George Washington Carver National Monument, Missouri (14 July, 1943)
- Giant Sequoia National Monument, California (15 April, 2000)
- Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico (16 November, 1907)
- Governors Island National Monument, New York (19 January, 2001)
- Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona (11 January, 2000)
- Grand Portage National Monument, Minnesota (27 January, 1960)
- Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah (18 September, 1996)
- Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho (18 November, 1988)
- Hanford Reach National Monument, Washington (8 June, 2000)
- Hohokam Pima National Monument, Arizona (21 October, 1972)
- Homestead National Monument of America, Nebraska (19 March, 1936)
- Hovenweep National Monument, Colorado/Utah (2 March, 1923)
- Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona (9 June, 2000)
- Jewel Cave National Monument, South Dakota (7 February, 1908)
- John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon (26 October, 1974)
- Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, New Mexico (17 January, 2001)
- Lava Beds National Monument, California (21 November, 1925)
- Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Montana (1 July, 1940)
- Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, Northern Mariana Islands (6 January, 2009)
- Misty Fjords National Monument, Alaska (1 December, 1978)
- Montezuma Castle National Monument, Arizona (8 December, 1906)
- Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington (27 August, 1982)
- Muir Woods National Monument, California (9 January, 1908)
- Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah (16 April, 1908)
- Navajo National Monument, Arizona (20 March, 1909)
- Newberry National Volcanic Monument, Oregon (5 November, 1990)
- Ocmulgee National Monument, Georgia (23 December, 1936)
- Oregon Caves National Monument, Oregon (12 July, 1909)
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona (13 April, 1937)
- Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, United States Minor Outlying Islands (6 January, 2009)
- Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii (15 June, 2006)
- Petroglyph National Monument, New Mexico (27 June, 1990)
- Pinnacles National Monument, California (16 January, 1908)
- Pipe Spring National Monument, Arizona (31 May, 1923)
- Pipestone National Monument, Minnesota (25 August, 1937)
- Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Montana (15 October, 1966)
- Poverty Point National Monument, Louisiana (31 October, 1988)
- Prehistoric Trackways National Monument, New Mexico (30 March, 2009)
- President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home National Monument, District of Columbia (7 July, 2000)
- Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah (30 May, 1910)
- Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, American Samoa (6 January, 2009)
- Russell Cave National Monument, Alabama (11 May, 1961)
- Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, New Mexico (1 November, 1909)
- Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, California (24 October, 2000)
- Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska (12 December, 1919)
- Sonoran Desert National Monument, Arizona (17 January, 2001)
- Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York/New Jersey (15 October, 1924)
- Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Arizona (30 May, 1930)
- Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Utah (14 October, 1992)
- Tonto National Monument, Arizona (21 October, 1907)
- Tuzigoot National Monument, Arizona (25 July, 1939)
- Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, Montana (17 January, 2001)
- Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona (9 November, 2000)
- Virgin Islands Coral Reefs National Monument, US Virgin Islands (17 January, 2001)
- Walnut Canyon National Monument, Arizona (30 November, 1915)
- White Sands National Monument, New Mexico (25 July, 1933)
- World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, Hawaii/Alaska/California (5 December, 2008)
- Wupatki National Monument, Arizona (9 December, 1924)
- Yucca House National Monument, Colorado (19 December, 1919)
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