World Heritage Sites

Uluru is estimated to be 600 million years old.

A World Heritage Site is a place (such as a building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, or mountain) that has been deemed as being of cultural or historical significance. These sites are examined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and if found suitable are included in the list of World Heritage Sites.

There are a few keywords that could help you find information in your search; these include:
·         World Heritage
·         World Heritage site/s
·         International World Heritage Programme
·         UNESCO

If you want to find information about a specific world heritage site then you should use the name of the site as your search term, also think about alternate names for the site. For example ‘Ayers Rock’ is also known as ‘Uluru’.

Try some of the above terms in the library online catalogue; we have some great physical resource on world heritage sites.

If you go to the Information desk online webpage on the Library website you will see that you have access to encyclopaedias like World Book and Britannica. These resources will have information on world heritage sites.

Some websites you might find useful

UnescoWorld Heritage List
This is the actual World Heritage Site list. If you are in doubt as to whether the area you want to research for your assignment is classified as world heritage you should definitely check out this page. If you then click on the site you are interested in it will provide you with some information on the site.

Australia’s World Heritage – Australian GovernmentDepartment of the Environment

This has some great information specific to Australian heritage sites. The list of Australian sites is here if you click on one of the options it will provide you additional information. The 'Heritage' page is a good resource also.

Australian Geographic World Heritage Sites

This site has some spectacular images of the sites and some good information too. Great for some history and background information.