For the Gadling series "World Heritage Site new "Tentative List": Places to Love" we covered the 14 sites that have been submitted for possible inclusion as an official World Heritage Site in the United States. The sites were not posted in order of importance or in the order they appear on the list -- this is the last site covered.

Number: 12

Name of Site: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Location of site: Georgia/Florida

Reason for importance (in a nutshell): This site embodies the Okefenokee Swamp, a large, intact wetland that houses the headwaters of two rivers. It also has undisturbed deposits of peat. The vast, saucer-shaped bog was once part of the ocean floor, and the swamp is one of the oldest and most well-preserved freshwater areas is the US, according to GORP.

Catherine's take: It's got more going for it than a name that's fun to say; intact wetlands are hard to come by these days. The photo I found was so beautiful I had to make it larger than usual. And besides, if we run out of oil we can just burn the peat, right?

Filed under: Arts and Culture, North America, United States