United States National Monuments

The Statue of Liberty

Walnut Canyons

The Statue of Liberty was made in France and

arrived in the New York Harbor in April of
1886.
The sculptor of The Statue of Liberty is Fredric
Auguste Bartholdi.
After the statue was finished it was shipped to
the New York Harbor where it arrived in 360
pieces. The Statue of Liberty was made to
honor the centennial of the U.S., but it arrived
10 years late so they made it a statue to
celebrate America and France's friendship.
France paid $250,000 for the statue and
America paid $270,000. The Statue of Liberty
is 152 feet tall and is located on Liberty Island.
It became a designated monument in 1924.

Walnut Canyon is in Flagstaff, Arizona.

It was used by the local Sinagua Indians in
12th and 13th centuries.
The vegetation varies here.
There is a museum at the monument.
There are many hiking trails.
The area is covered with a mixed forest.
Ponderosa pines, gambel oak, pinyon pine, and
junipers cover the slopes.
People are not allowed to camp there.
It is built under limestone ledges.
It is a very wonderful place for animals to live.
People lived here over 900 years ago.
The Native Americans hunted deer and other
wild game. It is one of their ancestral homes.
A creek circles around three sides of a high
rocky plateau.
It sort of creates an island.

Castillo de San Marcos

The castle is the oldest masonry fort in the
continental US, and did you know that the
word ''castillo'' means castle? It was built from
1672 to 1695 out of stone blocks, in
St.Augustin, Florida. The fort was held by the
Spanish until 1763 when it was handed over to
the English. There is no visitor center, but there
are some museum exhibits in some of the
rooms in the ruins. There are re-enactors
portraying Spanish soldiers. If the weather is
aproppriate, there may be cannon and/or
musket firing.
The monument is open to the public from 8:45
AM to 5:15 PM every day except Christmas
Day. Visitation is quite high in the summer
with an average of 35,OO people per day.

United States National Monuments

Craters of the Moon

The Effigy Mounds

Fort McHenry

Calvin Coolidge decided that Craters of the

Moon would be a monument. It became a
monument in 1924. Craters of the Moon is in
Arco, Idaho.
It is part of the Snake River Plains. In some
places of Craters of the Moon the lava is
10,000 feet deep. It is a lava flow bed.
Craters of the Moon is 54,400 acres. It contains
55 cones with lava flows and 14 fissures.
Eruptions took place in 2,000-53,400 acres
long.

There are 2,526 acres of mounds in this scenic

monument in western Iowa.
Effigies are mounds in the shapes of animals
and famous people. Ther are 2,526 acres of
mounds, 195 mounds, and 31 of them are
effigies. This monument has forests, tall-grass
prairies, wetlands, and rivers.
There you can find find museum highlights and
book sale outlets. There is also an auditorium
for presentations.
The park has 11 miles of hiking trail, and is a
great walk for all ages. No roads exist in the
park, so it is all scenic
You can go on a guided hike and learn about
prehistorical tools.
The hikes are open from June 11 through Labor
Day. There are no lodging or camping areas in
the park however.

Fort McHenry is named after James McHenry

and it was built in 1799. The British bombed
Fort McHenry on September 13-14. The war
between Fort McHenry and the British was in
1812.
It is in the Baltimore Harbor, Maryland. It was
made to protect them from the British. Fort
McHenry was first named Fort Whetstone
because of the location on Whetstone point.
"The Star Spangled Banner" was written by
Francis Key Scott. The defense of the fort
inspired Francis to write it. During The Civil
War Fort Mchenry was a Union Prison Camp.

United States National Monuments

Little Bighorn Battlefield

Chimney Rock

Lehman Caves National Monument

The Little Bighorn Battlefield became a

monument on March 22, 1946. The battle was
between the Sioux and Cheyenne combination
and the Seventh Cavalry of the United States
Army. Custer and his Seventh Cavalry attacked
a village in the Little Bighorn River Valley.
The war was to control the Black Hills because
there was gold discovered there during 1874.
The battle is the most famous battle between
the U.S. Army and Plain Indian tribes. The
Little Bighorn Battle took place on June 25 to
the 26 in the year of 1876. Custer and 262 of
his men died and at least 60 Sioux and
Cheyenne died. The two leaders of the Native
Americans was Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.
On June 25, 2003 the first Indian memorial
was dedicated and on January 29, 1879 it was
declared a national cemetery.

Chimney Rock was made a National

monument on August 9, 1956. It's mantanied
and operated by the Nebraska State Historical
Society. It's located in the North Platte River
Valley. This landmark has been looked at by
adventurers for decades.
It's known most for a landmark on the Oregon
trail. It resembles a chimney so they named it
Chimney Rock. It is 325 feet tall. It is looked at
by a lot of people.

Lehman Caves is actually one cave. It is 402 m

( 1/4 mile) into marble and limestone known as
speleothems. The cave is mostly known for its
shield formations, described as two curcular
heads fastened together. The shields are very
similar-looking to many oceanic creatures.
Over 300 shields are known to be in the cave.
The cave includes: stalactites, stalagmites,
helictites, flowstone, popcorn, and other
formations.
The cave is located behind an iron door that is
protruding from a hillside. If you are wishing
to go on a guided tour, the fee is $4 although
entry into the park is free. At one point on the
tour, all the lights in the cave are turned off so
that you may experience total darkness.

United States National Monuments

Kasha-Katuwe Rocks

Fort Sumter

George Washington Birthplace

Kasha-Katuwe Roots are in Parajito Plateau,

New Mexico. It was became a national
monument on January 17, 2001. It was built to
observe, study, and experience the geological
process that shapes the natural landscapes. It
covers 4,114 acres.
It is rich in pumice, ash, and tuff deposits. The
light-colored, cone-shaped tent rock formations
are the products of explosive volcanic
eruptions that occurred between six and seven
million years ago. President Clinton declared it
a national monument. Bluebirds live in the
ponderosa pines nearby.
The monument is open for day use only and
may be closed by order of the Cochiti Tribal
Governor. A recreation trail leads up to a
lookout point where the tent rocks may be
viewed from above.

Fort Sumter is named after a Revolutionary

War hero named Thomas Sumter. It is located
on the Charleston Bay in Charleston County,
South Carolina.
The plan for Fort Sumter was drawn in 1827
and the construction began in 1829. Fort
Sumter is 50 feet high and 8-12 feet thick.
The fort is on a manmade island made out of
seashells and granite. Fort Sumter was made to
protect Charleston from any attackers that
might come.

The George Washington Birthplace became a

monument on May 14, 1932 and it was
finished in 1931. It is in Rappahannock,
Virginia near the Potomac River. The George
Washington Birthplace was made a monument
so people could see where George Washington
lived.
It is 550 acres of land. George was born there
in 1732. It has been visited since 1815. 5
generations of Washington's have lived at that
location. The generations started with John
Washington in 1658.
Next to the monument is a cemetery where
George Washington's father, grandfather, and
great grandfather are buried. The house was
made by George Washington's father, but it
was destroyed by a fire.

United States National Monuments

Devils Tower

The White House

Buck Island Reef

Devils Tower was the first United States

National Monument. It became a monument on
September 24, 1906. The tower is 1,280 feet
tall. People enjoy rock climbing the tower. The
first person to reach the top was in 1875.
The monument was named by Colonel Richard
Dodge. The Sioux tribe called it Mateo Tepee
or Grizzly Bear Lodge. The tower was a
worship site for the American Indians of the
Plains tribe.
The Native American legend is that there were
seven girls playing, when they got chased by
bears. They climbed on a rock and it grew up
into the sky. You can still see the claw marks
on the sides of the tower. The seven girls then
became the constellation, Pleiades.

The White House is located in Washington

D.C; it is between Virginia and Maryland.
The first stone was laid on October 13,
1792.
It was built for the president of the United
States of America; President James K. Polk
was the first president to live there.
The White House has 132 rooms.
It has 35 bathrooms.
There are 6 levels in the White House.
The White House has 412 doors.
It has 147 windows.
It contains 8 staircases.
The White house has 3 elevators.

There are many fish in the area, such as

Parrotfish, French Angelfish, and Blue
Tang. Concessionaires give half, and all
day tours daily to Buck Island from
St.Croix so you can enjoy snorkeling and
other activities.
Buck Island, one of the Virgin Islands, is a
great recreational site and attracts many
tourists. It is 6000 ft. long, a half mile
wide, and uninhabited. It is also the
holding place for the Buck Island Reef.
This national monument includes 176 acres
of land and 704 acres of water and coral
reef. The reef wad first protected in 1948,
the area was proclaimed a national
monument in 1961.