World Heritage Identification Number: 150
World Heritage since: 1981
Category: Natural Heritage
WHE Type: Protected Areas & National Parks
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇺🇸 United States of America
Continent: Americas
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
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Mammoth Cave National Park: A Unique Subterranean Wonder in Kentucky
Mammoth Cave National Park, situated in the heart of Kentucky, stands as a testament to nature's grandeur and the intricate beauty hidden beneath our feet. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, this subterranean wonder boasts the world's largest network of natural caves and underground passageways, offering a captivating exploration into the depths of limestone formations.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Mammoth Cave National Park, located in the state of Kentucky, has the world's largest network of natural caves and underground passageways, which are characteristic examples of limestone formations. The park and its underground network of more than 560 surveyed km of passageways are home to a varied flora and fauna, including a number of endangered species.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (vii): Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world. The long passages with huge chambers, vertical shafts, stalagmites and stalactites, splendid forms of beautiful gypsum flowers, delicate gypsum needles, rare mirabilite flowers and other natural features of the cave system are all superlative examples of their type. No other known cave system in the world offers a greater variety of sulfate minerals.
Criterion (viii): Mammoth Cave exhibits 100 million years of cave-forming action and presents nearly every type of cave formation known. Geological processes involved in their formation continue. Today, this huge and complex network of cave passages provides a clear, complete and accessible record of the world’s geomorphic and climatic changes. Outside the cave, the karst topography is superb, with fascinating landscapes and all of the classic features of a karst drainage system: vast recharge area, complex network of underground conduits, sink holes, cracks, fissures, and underground rivers and springs.
Criterion (x): The flora and fauna of the cave is the richest caverniculous wildlife known, numbering over 130 species, of which 14 species of troglobites and troglophiles are known only to exist here.
Encyclopedia Record: Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park is a national park of the United States in south-central Kentucky. It encompasses portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest known cave system in the world. The park's 52,007 acres (21,046 ha) are located primarily in Edmonson County, with small areas extending eastward into Hart and Barren counties. The Green River runs through the park, with a tributary called the Nolin River feeding into the Green just inside the park.Additional Site Details
Area: 21,191 hectares
Number of Components: 1
(viii) — Outstanding example representing major earth stages
(x) — Contains most important habitats for biodiversity
Coordinates: 37.18722222 , -86.10305556
IUCN World Heritage Outlook
The 2025 Conservation Outlook on Mammoth Cave National Park reports the following assessment:
Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) · View assessment
Image
Willis Thomas Lee, Public domain
