50 years of World Heritage Sites Nov 16, 2022

At its World Heritage Convention on November 16, 1972, UNESCO adopted an international treaty that for the first time linked the concepts of nature conservation and preservation of cultural properties. The World Heritage Sites program was sparked by Egypt"s plans to construct the Aswan High Dam. UNESCO helped save thousands of antiquities that would have been lost as a result of the dam, which flooded a large swath of the Nile Valley.

© Brad McGinley Photography/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Nov 16, 2018Ancient art in the Amazon
Nov 16, 2019Mountain mists over Bavaria
Nov 16, 2020A temple, preserved
Nov 16, 2021Glenfinnan Viaduct
Nov 16, 2023World Philosophy Day
Nov 16, 2024Wadden Sea coast, Friesland, Netherlands
Nov 16, 2025A traboule in Lyon, France

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Dec 31, 2025New Years Eve
Nov 15, 2019Mesmerizing murmuration
Jun 4, 2019Breaking the fast for Eid
Mar 28, 2026African buffalo, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Feb 22, 2021Invisible no longer
Jan 4, 2023Earth at Perihelion
Jan 31, 2018Sunbeams across Tartu County, Estonia
Nov 5, 2018Ludwig’s palace
Jan 31, 2019A bohemian feline
Dec 1, 2023Antarctica Day
Oct 16, 2022Prince Christian Sound in southern Greenland
Jun 29, 2022International Day of the Tropics
Jun 1, 2023World Reef Awareness Day
Mar 21, 2021A glimpse of the Blue Forest
Jul 3, 2021Diving into the underwater nirvana
Jul 31, 2024Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Jul 5, 2019Peel Castle on St. Patrick’s Isle with the Isle of Man in the background
Dec 9, 2018There’s treasure in them thar hills
Sep 20, 2025Oktoberfest begins!
Sep 27, 2023Via Krupp, Capri, Italy
May 17, 2025A delta in the Venetian Lagoon, Italy
Apr 16, 2021 A theatrical dream
Dec 26, 2023Happy Boxing Day!
Oct 29, 2024Great horned owl
Jul 8, 2021A storied trail marks a century
Feb 27, 2025International Polar Bear Day
Jun 25, 2023Al-Khazneh in Petra, Jordan
Jan 21, 2025Squirrel Appreciation Day
Feb 15, 2020Whales in winter
Aug 10, 2024Joshua Tree National Park, California