Recorded discoveries

World Heritage Sites connected to 'Recorded discoveries':

  • Angkor Henry Mouhot (French) is credited with 'discovering' it in 1860 although many other Westerners had visited the site before him. He certainly popularised it in the West.
  • Borobudur H.C. Cornelius (Dutch) on a mission sponsored by Sir Thomas Raffles in 1814
  • Brazilian Atlantic Islands Fernando de Noronha - Probably discovered by Fernão de Loronha in 1501/2 (though it may have been seen by others as early as 1500/01). First described by Amerigo Vespucci in 1503
  • Canaima National Park Angel Falls Jimmy Angel (American) - 1933 (by air - first visited 1937)
  • Gough and Inaccessible Islands Goncalo Alvarez (Portuguese) 1505/6
  • Grand Canyon Garcia Lopez de Cardenas (Spanish) 1540
  • Henderson Island Pedro Fernandes de Queiros (Portuguese) 1606
  • Iguacu Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (Spanish) 1541
  • Iguazu National Park Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (Spanish) 1541
  • Kilimanjaro National Park 1848
  • Machu Picchu Hiram J Bingham (American) 1911
  • Macquarie Island F Hasselborough (Australian) 1810
  • Moenjodaro Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay (Indian) 1922
  • Mount Kenya J Krapf (German) 1849 (First climbed 1899)
  • Petra Johann Ludwig Burkhardt (Swiss) 1812
  • Rapa Nui Jacob Roggeveen (Dutch) on Easter Sunday 1722
  • Shark Bay Within the inscribed area, Dirk Hartog island was the site of the first recorded European landing in Western Australia. It was named after Dutch explorer Captain Dirk Hartog who left an inscribed plate with his name at Cape Inscription after arriving there on the Eendracht in October 1616. The original plate is now in the Rijksmuseum ; link
  • Troy Charles Maclaren (Scottish) 1822 established the area, Frank Calvert (English) 1850's-60's did early excavations , Charles Schliemann 1870's provided "proof"
  • Uluru In October 1872 the explorer Ernest Giles was the first non-indigenous person to sight Kata Tjuṯa.
  • Victoria Falls David Livingstone (Scottish) 1855
  • Wrangel Island 1st landing (US Ship) 1881
  • Yellowstone John Colter (American - Lewis + Clarke Expedition) 1807