Geologic Heritage in the National Parks

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties listed in the Register include more than 76,000 districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture.

The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Included among the over 80,000 listings that make up the National Register are:
 
All historic areas in the National Park System;
Over 2,400 National Historic Landmarks, which have been designated by the Secretary of the Interior because of their importance to all Americans;
Properties across the country that have been nominated by governments, organizations, and individuals because they are significant to the nation, to a state, or to a community.

Many sites important to the history of American Geology can be found on the Register, some examples include:

Whitney Seismograph Vault, Hawaii
The Old Volcano House, Hawaii
Geode Glen, Warsaw, Illinois
Decorah Ice Cave, Afton, Iowa
Big Bone Lick, Kentucky
Kimmswick Bone Bed, Mastodon State Park, Missouri
Dr. Fisk Holbrook Day House, Wisconsin
Old Mine Park Archeological Site, Connecticut
Soapstone Ridge, Dekalb, Georgia
Rose Hotel, Hardin County, Illinois
Mines of Spain, Dubuque County, Iowa
Homestake Gold Mine, South Dakota
Pendarvis House, Mineral Point, Wisconsin
Orton Hall and the Orton Geological Museum, Columbus, Ohio
Science Hall, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin