New "Tentative List" of sites in the U.S. being considered for World Heritage site distinction

1. Civil Rights Movement Sites, Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama. This site links three locations of significance to the Civil Rights Movement. They are the three historically African-American churches: Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church in Montgomery and the Bethel Baptist and 16th Street Baptist Churches in Birmingham.

2. Dayton Aviation Sites. Four sites associated with the Wright Brothers' and flight are included. All are in and around Dayton and were significant in the "pioneering efforts in human flight."

3. Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, Ohio. Nine archeological sites containing more than 40 monumental ceremonial earthworks that date back to the Native American Ohio Hopewell culture during the Woodland Period (1,000-2,000 years ago).

4. Jefferson (Thomas) Buildings (Poplar Forest and Virginia State Capitol), Virginia. These two buildings will be added to the Jefferson buildings already part of the World Heritage listing. Monticello and the University of Virginia are on the list.

5. Mount Vernon, Virginia. George Washington's home and its gardens.

6. Poverty Point National Monument and State Historic Site, Louisiana. Constructed 1700 - 1100 years ago, this may be the "remains of the largest hunter-­gatherer settlement that has ever existed."

7. San Antonio Franciscan Missions, Texas. Five Spanish Roman Catholic missions that include 80 or more structures built from "1724 to 1782 on "open village" plans within walled compounds." They highlight the influence of Spanish colonialism.

8. Serpent Mound, Ohio. This is already a state monument in Ohio and is "the largest documented surviving example of a prehistoric effigy mound in the world."

9. Wright (Frank Lloyd) Buildings, Arizona, California, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. This is another multiple places historic site. These are ten properties that best represent the range of Frank Lloyd Wright 's work. The architect created 400. Getting the list down to 10 must have been daunting.

10. Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii. "1,200-mile-long string of islands and adjacent waters represents the longest, clearest, and oldest example of island formation and atoll evolution in the world." The islands are also culturally important because 1,000 ago people lived here.

11. Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary, American Samoa. This is refuge houses a coral reef ecosystem in an eroded volcanic crater.

12. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. Consists of the Okefenokee Swamp is "one of the world's largest naturally driven freshwater ecosystems." The diversity of habitats and flora and fauna is extensive.

13. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Has large deposits of petrified wood that date back to the Late Triassic Epoch, 205-225 million years ago. There are also imprtant fossils including those of dinosaurs.

14. White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Acres and acres (176,000 worth) of gypsum sand dunes, the "best protected surface deposit of gypsum sand" in the world.

** The photo is of the Hollyhock House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright's creations. This one is in Los Angeles, California.