The 36 National Natural Landmarks of California

The United States National Natural Landmarks (NNL) is a program that identifies and encourages the management, conservation, and rehabilitation of natural history in the US. The program identifies the geological and biological features in private and public ownership. The main aim of the program is to encourage and support individual and organization efforts in preserving sites that illustrate the ecological and geological history of the country. The program also seeks to encourage the public to appreciate natural heritage. There are 599 national natural landmarks in the country spread across 48 states, and the territories of Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa. Delaware and Louisiana are the only states without a national natural landmark. The federal, state, county, or municipal governments manage about one-half of the landmark sites. One-third is privately owned while the rest is owned and managed by a public-private corporation. A site qualifies as NNL because it contains the remnants of a specific geological, ecological, or biological feature. There are thirty-six National Natural Landmarks in California which include faults, desert parks, and extinct ice age animals and plants.

National Natural Landmarks of California

Designation and Ownership

The Federal government wholly owns ten of the thirty-six NNLs; nine are owned by the state governments, while ten more are private properties. The rest are owned by joint ownership between the three parties. A majority of the sites were designated NNLs between 1964 and 1987, Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks is the only park that was designated between 1988 and 2011, while Lake Shasta Caverns was designated in 2012 as the newest NLL.