Discover Cultural Landscapes

How do we understand the historic character of a cultural landscape?

We hope that you will visit some of these park cultural landscapes and get to know them for yourself; both those that you immediately connect with, and others that might at first feel a little unfamiliar.

It is also possible to explore cultural landscapes from a distance. Photographs, maps, reports, and other documentation can help provide perspective of the landscape over time.

The photos and reports on these pages represent the history, features, and historic significance of cultural landscapes around the country.

Find Cultural Landscapes

Cultural Landscape Photo Galleries and Multimedia: Image collections and videos of cultural landscapes around the country.

Find Your Cultural Landscape: Discover cultural landscapes around the National Park Service.

Landscape Features: More cultural landscape stories.

The entrance road to Vine Creek Ranch at Death Valley National Park has the character of a typical ranch road—narrow, curvilinear, and surfaced with dirt.

NPS

More Resources for Cultural Landscape Exploration

• IRMA (Integrated Resource Management Applications) - NPS Data Store contains completed Cultural Landscape Inventory park reports and Cultural Landscape Reports, and other cultural landscape documentation and planning documents.

• National Register of Historic Places - A Cultural Landscape Report identifies landscape characteristics and associated features, values, or associations that make a landscape historically significant, based on National Register criteria. The National Register of Historic Places is an effort to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic resources. This website contains a database of listed properties, the criteria for historic significance and integrity, and guidance on completing a nomination.

• NPGallery - An online repository for parks and programs of the NPS to store digital assets, including photos, illustrations, audio files, videos, and documents.

• Multimedia Search - All images and videos at NPS.gov. This link directs to items tagged with "cultural landscape."

• Teaching with Historic Places - This NPS program uses properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places to introduce a new view of history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. The lesson plans incorporate various resources to help teachers bring historic places into the classroom.

• Museum Management Program - Publications, lesson plans, online collections, and virtual exhibits connect the public to the experiences held within NPS museum collections.