List of national monuments of the United States
Name Agency Location Date established Area Visitors ( 2018 ) Description
Admiralty Island USFS Alaska 57°38′N 134°21′W / 57.64°N 134.35°W / 57.64 ; -134.35 ( Admiralty Island ) December 1 , 1978 1,019,861 acres ( 4,127.2 km ) Occupying most of Admiralty Island , the 7th largest in the United States , this monument is part of Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska . The monument protects the densest known population of brown bear on Earth , along with habitat for the Sitka black-tailed deer . Most of the monument has been designated as the Kootznoowoo Wilderness , restricting future development . The Greens Creek mine lies within the monument
African Burial Ground NPS New York 40°42′52″N 74°00′15″W / 40.7144°N 74.0042°W / 40.7144 ; -74.0042 ( African Burial Ground ) February 27 , 2006 0.35 acres ( 0.001 km ) 45,035 Re-discovered in 1991 during excavations for a new federal building , this former burial ground that contains the remains of more than 400 free and enslaved Africans buried during the 17th and 18th centuries was designated a National Historic Landmark memorial in 1993
Agate Fossil Beds NPS Nebraska 42°24′58″N 103°43′41″W / 42.416°N 103.728°W / 42.416 ; -103.728 ( Agate Fossil Beds ) June 14 , 1997 3,057.87 acres ( 12.4 km ) 16,238 The valley of the Niobrara River is known for its large number of well-preserved Miocene mammal fossils which date from about 20 million years ago
Agua Fria BLM Arizona 34°09′N 112°05′W / 34.15°N 112.08°W / 34.15 ; -112.08 ( Agua Fria ) January 11 , 2000 70,980 acres ( 287.2 km ) Located around the canyon of the Agua Fria River , it contains more than 450 distinct Native American structures , including large pueblos with more than 100 rooms
Aleutian Islands World War II FWS Alaska 52°52′N 173°10′W / 52.87°N 173.16°W / 52.87 ; -173.16 ( Aleutian Islands World War II ) December 5 , 2008 4,950 acres ( 20.0 km ) During World War II Japan briefly occupied Attu Island and Kiska Island in the Aleutian chain . The monument includes the site of the 19-day battle to reclaim Attu , artifacts of the occupation at Kiska , and the crash site of a U.S. B-24D Liberator on Atka Island . Originally designated as part of World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument , which was divided and renamed March 12 , 2019
Alibates Flint Quarries NPS Texas 35°34′N 101°40′W / 35.57°N 101.67°W / 35.57 ; -101.67 ( Alibates Flint Quarries ) August 21 , 1965 1,370.97 acres ( 5.5 km ) 7,415 Alibates was the quarry site for high-quality , rainbow-hued flint that was distributed throughout the Great Plains in pre-Columbian times . It is jointly operated with the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area and includes the ruins of several Plains Village Indian dwellings
Aniakchak NPS Alaska 56°54′N 158°09′W / 56.9°N 158.15°W / 56.9 ; -158.15 ( Anikchak ) December 1 , 1978 137,176 acres ( 555.1 km ) 100 Mount Aniakchak , which erupted 3,500 years ago , and the surrounding region make up one of the least visited NPS sites . Surprise Lake , within the volcano 's 6-mile ( 9.7 km ) wide , 2,500-foot ( 760 m ) deep caldera , is the source of the Aniakchak River
Aztec Ruins NPS New Mexico 36°50′N 107°00′W / 36.83°N 107.00°W / 36.83 ; -107.00 ( Aztec Ruins ) January 24 , 1923 318.4 acres ( 1.3 km ) 54,933 The ruins contain Pueblo structures from the 11th to 13th centuries with more than 400 masonry rooms which were misidentified by early American settlers as Aztec . It has been included in the Chaco Culture World Heritage Site , which also includes Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Bandelier NPS New Mexico 35°47′N 106°16′W / 35.78°N 106.27°W / 35.78 ; -106.27 ( Bandelier ) February 11 , 1916 33,676.67 acres ( 136.3 km ) 198,441 Frijoles Canyon contains Ancestral Pueblo homes , kivas , rock paintings and petroglyphs . The Pueblo structures made of volcanic tuff date to 1150 CE , with other artifacts more than 11,000 years old
Basin and Range BLM Nevada 37°54′N 115°24′W / 37.9°N 115.4°W / 37.9 ; -115.4 ( Basin and Range ) July 10 , 2015 703,585 acres ( 2,847.3 km ) The remote Mount Irish , Seaman , and Golden Gate Ranges surround the Garden and Coal Valleys and White River Narrows and are home to many desert species and 4,000-year-old rock art
Bears Ears BLM , USFS Utah 37°38′N 109°52′W / 37.63°N 109.86°W / 37.63 ; -109.86 ( Bears Ears National Monument ) December 28 , 2016 201,876 acres ( 817.0 km ) The Bears Ears are a pair of buttes that rise above sandstone canyons and mesas . Other points of geologic interest include the twin Six Shooter dome-shaped peaks , striated sandstone pinnacles , and natural arches . The wider region has tens of thousands of archaeological sites including rock art , ancient cliff dwellings , and ceremonial kivas
Belmont-Paul Women 's Equality NPS District of Columbia 38°53′N 77°00′W / 38.89°N 77.00°W / 38.89 ; -77.00 ( Belmont-Paul Women 's Equality ) April 12 , 2016 0.34 acres ( 0.001 km ) 9,081 Home of the National Woman 's Party since 1929 , this Adam Federal style house near the US Capitol was the home where party leader Alice Paul and others lived and worked
Berryessa Snow Mountain USFS , BLM California 39°13′N 122°46′W / 39.22°N 122.77°W / 39.22 ; -122.77 ( Berryessa Snow Mountain ) July 10 , 2015 330,780 acres ( 1,338.6 km ) Fewer than 100 miles ( 160 km ) from the San Francisco Bay Area , Berryessa Snow Mountain protects part of the California Coast Range , one of the most biodiverse regions in the state , home to elk , osprey , river otters , half the state 's dragonfly species , and California 's second-largest population of wintering bald eagles
Birmingham Civil Rights NPS Alabama 33°30′47″N 86°48′54″W / 33.513°N 86.815°W / 33.513 ; -86.815 ( Birmingham Civil Rights ) January 12 , 2017 0.88 acres ( 0.004 km ) Preserves the A. G. Gaston Motel , which was bombed by the KKK after Martin Luther King Jr. and Birmingham campaign leaders had stayed there , inciting the Birmingham riot of 1963
Booker T. Washington NPS Virginia 37°07′23″N 79°45′58″W / 37.123°N 79.766°W / 37.123 ; -79.766 ( Booker T. Washington ) April 2 , 1956 239.01 acres ( 1.0 km ) 22,732 The Booker T. Washington National Monument preserves portions of the 207-acre ( 0.84 km ) tobacco farm on which educator and civil rights leader Booker T. Washington was born into slavery on April 5 , 1856 . The site contains replicas of the house Washington was born in , a smokehouse , a blacksmith shed , a tobacco barn , and a horse barn
Browns Canyon BLM , USFS Colorado 38°36′54″N 106°03′32″W / 38.615°N 106.059°W / 38.615 ; -106.059 ( Browns Canyon ) February 19 , 2015 21,604 acres ( 87.4 km ) Protects steep granite cliffs and colorful rock outcroppings overlooking the Arkansas River , where visitors can go whitewater rafting . Prehistoric campsites and shelters date back 11,000 years , while sites from gold mining remain from the late 1800s
Buck Island Reef NPS US Virgin Islands 17°47′N 64°37′W / 17.79°N 64.62°W / 17.79 ; -64.62 ( Buck Island Reef ) December 28 , 1961 19,015.47 acres ( 77.0 km ) 31,411 Most of this monument is underwater , containing a large elkhorn coral barrier reef that provides cover for a great variety of reef fish , sea turtles and least terns . It is based around Buck Island , an uninhabited 176-acre ( 0.71 km ) island
Cabrillo NPS California 32°40′N 117°14′W / 32.67°N 117.24°W / 32.67 ; -117.24 ( Cabrillo ) October 14 , 1913 159.94 acres ( 0.6 km ) 842,104 This monument commemorates the landing of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay on September 28 , 1542 , which was the first European expedition to what later became the West Coast of the U.S . The monument includes a statue of Cabrillo and 20th-century coastal artillery batteries built to protect the harbor of San Diego from enemy warships
California Coastal BLM California 36°53′N 122°11′W / 36.89°N 122.18°W / 36.89 ; -122.18 ( California Coastal ) January 11 , 2000 2,628 acres ( 10.6 km ) This monument ensures the protection of all of the more than 20,000 islets , reefs and rock outcroppings from the coast of California to a distance of 12 nautical miles ( 22 km ) , along the entire 840-mile ( 1,350 km ) long California coastline
Camp Nelson Heritage NPS Kentucky 37°47′N 84°36′W / 37.78°N 84.60°W / 37.78 ; -84.60 ( Camp Nelson Heritage ) October 26 , 2018 373 acres ( 1.5 km ) Established in 1863 as a depot for the Union Army during the Civil War , Camp Nelson became a large recruitment center for African American Union soldiers : a key site of emancipation for those soldiers and a refugee camp for their families
List of national monuments
There are 128 protected areas in the United States known as national monuments. The President of the United States can establish a national monument by presidential proclamation, while the United States Congress can do so by legislation. The president's authority arises from the Antiquities Act of 1906, which authorizes the president to proclaim historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest as national monuments. Concerns about protecting mostly prehistoric Indian ruins and artifacts - collectively termed antiquities - on western federal lands prompted the legislation. Its purpose was to allow the president to quickly preserve public land without waiting for legislation to pass through an unconcerned Congress. The ultimate goal was to protect all historic and prehistoric sites on U.S. federal lands. President Theodore Roosevelt established the first national monument, Devils Tower in Wyoming, on September 24, 1906. He established eighteen national monuments, although only nine still retain that designation. Seventeen presidents have created national monuments since the program began; only Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush did not. Bill Clinton created nineteen and expanded three others. Jimmy Carter protected vast parts of Alaska, proclaiming fifteen national monuments, some of which later were promoted to national parks. President Barack Obama created or expanded thirty-four national monuments, the most of any president, with over half a billion acres of public land and water protected.