Natural monument

Cono de Arita, a natural monument in Argentina.
Bogusław Oak, a natural monument in the Polish forest named Puszcza Wkrzańska near Leśno Górne.

A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance.

Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, natural monuments are level III, described as:

"Areas are set aside to protect a specific natural monument, which can be a landform, sea mount, submarine cavern, geological feature such as a cave or even a living feature such as an ancient grove. They are generally quite small protected areas and often have high visitor value."

This is a lower level of protection than level II (national parks) and level I (wilderness areas).

The European Environment Agency's guidelines for selection of a natural monument are:[1]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natural monuments.

References


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