50 years of World Heritage Sites Nov 16, 2022

50 years of World Heritage Sites

At its World Heritage Convention on November 16, 1972, UNESCO adopted an international treaty that for the first time linked the concepts of nature conservation and preservation of cultural properties. The World Heritage Sites program was sparked by Egypt"s plans to construct the Aswan High Dam. UNESCO helped save thousands of antiquities that would have been lost as a result of the dam, which flooded a large swath of the Nile Valley.

© Brad McGinley Photography/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Nov 16, 2018Ancient art in the Amazon
Nov 16, 2019Mountain mists over Bavaria
Nov 16, 2020A temple, preserved
Nov 16, 2021Glenfinnan Viaduct
Nov 16, 2023World Philosophy Day
Nov 16, 2024Wadden Sea coast, Friesland, Netherlands
Nov 16, 2025A traboule in Lyon, France

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 3, 2020 Field of Light at Sensorio by Bruce Munro
Jun 23, 2021Light show in the forest
Sep 9, 2025A Eurasian red squirrel in Switzerland
Nov 29, 2022Giving Tuesday
Jun 9, 2022Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland
Jan 8, 2022American bison
Mar 10, 2021Commemorating the life of a famous railroad conductor
May 28, 2021Freeloaders of the avian world
Dec 27, 2023Kirkjufell, Iceland
Apr 23, 2021A house of grand scale(s)
Dec 28, 2025Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
Apr 11, 2023Mossy Grotto Falls, Oregon
Dec 16, 2025Handmade gnomes at a Christmas market
Nov 22, 2023Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Oct 1, 2025Clark Range, Yosemite National Park, California
May 26, 2026Lupine flowers in bloom, Northern California
Apr 21, 2026European hedgehog, France
Jun 18, 2020Boating on the Bojo
Aug 22, 2023Amphitheatre of El Jem, Tunisia
Feb 23, 2018Aerial view of the Colorado River Delta in Mexico
Apr 25, 2018National Park Week: Wind Cave National Park
Apr 17, 2026International Bat Appreciation Day
Feb 12, 2023Blue-footed booby, Galápagos Islands
Feb 26, 2025Castle Stalker, Argyll, Scotland
Mar 1, 2020Casting a vote for women s history
Jun 24, 2020Midsummer in Sweden
Jan 1, 2024Happy New Year!
Jan 27, 2018Bioluminescence at Trwyn Du Lighthouse in Wales
Jan 24, 2021These patterns tell a story
Nov 12, 2020Upstate autumn