Memorials
America's national memorials commemorate historic people, places, and events. Enjoy the guided tours, films and exhibits that many memorials have to offer.
Trees that survived horrific or important events provide strong emotional connections for visitors to the historic sites.
According to Congress, there are too many memorials in the District of Columbia. Finalists in a new contest rethink our monuments for the digital age.
Fossil beds, ancient ruins and war monuments are just a few historic landmarks you'll explore on our National Monuments page. Find unique vacation spots, indulge your curiosity and learn some history as you plan your next trip.
Tonto National Monument is the only National Park site dedicated to the Salado people of the Tonto basin, successors to the Hohokam settlers. Read about Tonto National Monument.
The prehistoric dwellings at Tuzigoot, like those at nearby Montezuma Castle, were built by Sinagua farmers. The Tuzigoot pueblo sprawls along an open ridge 120 feet above the Verde Valley. Check out Tuzigoot National Monument.
Between A.D. 1100 and 1250, the Sinagua built more than 300 small rooms of stone and mud into the limestone cliffs of Walnut Canyon. A rugged trail leads to the ruins of 24 cliff dwellings. Read more about Walnut Canyon National Monument.
WupatkiNational Monument, proclaimed in 1924, has more than 35,000 acres of archaeological ruins. The main ruin at Wupatki is a three-story pueblo. Read about Wupatki National Monument.
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve is made up of 586000 acres of pristine Alaska wilderness. Still considered active Aniakchak is a volcanic area on which visitors can hike climb and explore the caldera's windswept plains cinder cones and lava fields.
Alaska's CapeKrusenstern continues to sustain native Eskimos, who hunt, fish, and trap within the monument's 660,000 acres, as they have done for thousands of years. Read about Cape Krusenstern National Monument.
Some 50 million years ago, Fossil Butte in Wyoming was submerged under a lake 50 miles long and 20 miles wide. Eventually the lake dried up, leaving behind the rock where the center of the lake once was. Check out Fossil Butte National Monument.
Want to take a trip back in time? While fossil beds that extend over five million years are rare, the three units of this monument preserve a 65-million-year record of plant and animal life. Learn about the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
Few caves in the National Park System offer a more stunning array of geological formations than Oregon Caves, known as the "marble halls of Oregon." Learn about Oregon Caves National Monument.
The russet spires and crags of PinnaclesNational Monument, south of the San Francisco Bay area, provide an ideal sanctuary, both for people and birds of prey. Learn more about Pinnacles National Monument.
In 1870, Brigham Young visited an oasis in the parched Arizona Strip. He quickly recognized Pipe Spring's potential as a cattle ranch made plans to build a fort to protect the valuable water supply. Read more about Pipe Spring National Monument.
One of the seven wonders of the world can be found in the canyon-lands of southeastern Utah. RainbowBridge is the world's largest natural bridge, standing 290 feet tall and spanning 275 feet. Check out Rainbow Bridge National Monument.
The peaks, cinder cones, and lava flows of Sunset Crater represent a long period of volcanic activity. The last eruption occurred about 900 years ago, forming the cinder cone with its summit crater. Check out Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument.
High on the steep slopes of Utah's Wasatch Range, three limestone caves pierce 11,750-foot Mt. Timpanogos. Inside are a variety of intricate structures left behind from mineral deposits over millions of years. Check out Timpanogos Cave National Monument.
Visitors to Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument see proof of nature's resourcefulness, from the kangaroo rat, which drinks no water yet thrives in the arid climate, to the creosote bush, which makes its own natural herbicide.
Petroglyph National Monument preserves an estimated 25,000 historic and prehistoric images along the West Mesa escarpment, making it one of the world's largest collections of rock carvings. Read about Petroglyph National Monument.
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, authorized in 1965, marks the site where native peoples of the Texas Panhandle made their tools and weapons. Check out the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument.
Booker T. Washington National Monument holds replica of the former home of the famous black educator, philosopher, and civil rights leader. Read about Booker T. Washington National Monument.
Fort Frederica National Monument preserves the once-flourishing town of Frederica and the battle site of the Battle of Bloody Marsh. Read about Fort Frederica National Monument.
The island outpost of Fort Matanzas was built in the 1740s to protect the city of St. Augustine by preventing ships from entering a vulnerable point on the river. Check out Fort Matanzas National Monument.
George Washington's birthplace includes fields of tobacco and wheat, farm buildings, groves of trees, and colorful country gardens that were the scenes of Washington's early childhood. Learn about the George Washington Birthplace National Monument.
The Ocmulgee National Monument, located east of Macon, Georgia, contains traces of more than 10,000 years of continuous human occupation, from Ice Age hunters to the Creeks of historic times. Read more about Ocmulgee National Monument.
