12 world wonders worth seeing

The World Heritage List -- that most lauded and recognizable of preservation lists -- includes nearly 1,000 sites all over the world. That number will almost certainly increase when the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization meets June 15-25 in Qatar. Instead of sorting through that encyclopedic list, why not start at the very beginning with the first 12 sites? The Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, Yellowstone National Park in the United States and the Island of Goree in Senegal were among the 12 sites named to the first list in 1978, CNN reports. Only countries that sign the convention creating the World Heritage Committee and list can nominate sites, and that was just 40 countries when the first nominations came out. Thirty-six years later, 191 nations have signed the convention. "There is an incredible diversity of sites both natural and cultural around the world," said Mechtild Rossler, deputy director of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, a 22-year veteran of the organization. "The beauty of this convention is that the text defining natural and cultural heritage is very broad." Being named to the list is a big deal. Government officials work for years to prepare their nominations, and preservation officials hope for those designations to support their work. And what tourist site doesn't tout its World Heritage Site designation? While we wait to learn the newest members of this prestigious list, here are the first 12 World Heritage sites, listed in the order in which they are listed in the minutes of the September 1978 meeting in Washington. L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Park, Canada What's left of the 11th-century Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Park on the island of Newfoundland in Canada is the earliest evidence of the first European presence in North America. Excavations have found timber-framed, peat-turf buildings like those found in Iceland and Norse Greenland during the same period. It's the first and only known Viking site in North America. The site was protected by the government of Canada in 1977, just a year before its inclusion on the World Heritage List. Nahanni National Park, Canada Located in Canada's Northwest Territories along the South Nahanni River and the Flat River, Nahanni National Park was protected as a national park by Canada in 1972. Nahanni includes almost every known type of North American river and stream, enormous waterfalls, granite peaks, deep canyons, a unique limestone cave system and evidence of ancient rivers. Some 40 types of mammals and 170 bird species call this park home. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador The 19 islands and surrounding marine reserve that are theGalapagos Islands are part of a unique archipelago of unusual animals, plant life and seismic activity that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Located about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the South American continent where three currents meet in the Pacific Ocean, the Galapagos host an intriguing collection of animal and plant life. Residents include the blue-footed booby, giant tortoises, flightless cormorants and marine iguanas. Some 97% of the total emerged surface was declared a National Park in 1959. The Galapagos Marine Reserve was created in 1986 with an area of 70,000 kilometers and was expanded to 133,000 kilometers in 1998.