Mississippi Mounds – United States
Nowhere north of the Valley of Mexico is there a more robust expression of prehistoric Native American culture and religion than in the ceremonial mound complexes of the Mississippian culture.
Wolf River – United States
The Wolf River, its watershed, and the surrounding hill country have been used by generations of Sokaogon peoples for activities that pass on traditions and sustain their community’s identity. These activities include religious observances at Popple Pond and Oak Lake and gathering pure water from springs for use in water ceremonies.
Mount Graham – United States
Construction of an astronomical observatory threatens the integrity of Mount Graham, Ariz., sacred to the San Carlos and White Mountain Apache. This ironic conflict pits the Vatican against Apache spiritual leaders, and astronomers against biologists.
Zuni Salt Lake – United States
Sixty miles south of the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico lies Salt Lake, home of the Zuni’s Salt Mother deity. When water evaporates in the summer, it leaves a layer of salt on the lake bottom, which is harvested by pilgrims, including medicine men coming from Zuni and other neighboring tribes.
Mount Kenya – Kenya
Although it straddles the equator, Mount Kenya is usually capped with ice and snow. At 17,058 feet, it is Africa’s second-highest mountain; glaciers nest in its ragged peaks, forests blanket its slopes. This ancient extinct volcano, which rises in the center of the country that shares its name, has long been a wonder to all who beheld its icy peaks gleaming with sunlight.
Arctic Russia – Russia
Living in the harshest of climates, the indigenous peoples of Russia’s far northern Arctic have survived for thousands of years through knowledge systems and practices that revere the spirited landscape they inhabit.
Chartres Cathedral – France
On a hilltop in the French city of Chartres stands a cathedral renowned as a testament to human builders inspired by faith in the divine. One of the world’s best-preserved medieval cathedrals, it is a Gothic architectural achievement that has been called a miracle of stained glass and stone.
Sacred Groves of India – India
Green patches of woodland dot the landscape of India — from bamboo groves on the eastern coast to clumps of trees in the northwestern deserts, and from jungles in the tropical south to dense Himalayan forests in the north.
Black Hills – United States
The Black Hills stretch across western South Dakota, northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana and constitute a sacred landscape for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Omaha.
Rainbow Bridge – United States
A world-famous natural bridge located at the northern edge of the Dine (Navajo) Nation, Rainbow Bridge is the site of hundreds of thousands of tourist visits every year and is recognized as a National Monument.