Photo Contest Winners - 2012

Designated a NNL in 1984, Porcupine Mountain contains a large tract of white pine with the best and largest stand of virgin northern hemlock in the lake states and the largest relatively undisturbed northern hemlock hardwood forest west of the Adirondacks. The site contains excellent examples of wave-cut beaches marking former glacial lake shorelines.

In terms of size, condition and lack of disturbance, Bigelow Mountain possesses one of the best alpine vegetation zones among New England�s 4,000-foot peaks. It is exceptionally scenic and wild, with some of the best summit views in the eastern United States. The site was designated a NNL in 1975.

Burney Falls, located within McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, contains some of the best examples in the western United States of a river drainage regulated by stratigraphically-controlled springs, and of a waterfall formed by undercutting of horizontal rock layers. The site was designated a NNL in 1984.

Honorable Mentions

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is the largest desert state park in the nation. Designated a NNL in 1974, the site contains some of the best examples of the various biotic communities and geological phenomena of the Colorado Desert region, including badlands topography.

Cassia Silent City of Rocks, designated a NNL in 1974, contains monolithic landforms created by exfoliation processes on exposed massive granite plutons. It is the best example of bornhardts (weather-resistant rock left standing after erosion of surrounding rock) in the country.

Cave Without A Name contains rare and nationally outstanding examples of speleothems, one of the more important cave faunas in the Hill Country area, including a species of state-wide significance, and regionally important paleontological deposits that are potentially of state or national importance. The site was designated a NNL in 2009.

The Ellenville Fault-Ice Caves, located within Sam�s Point Preserve, contains the largest known exposed fault system in the United States, along with a series of ice caves formed from fault debris. Designated a NNL in 1967, the site also contains one of the best examples of ridgetop dwarf pine barrens.

Gulf Hagas, designated a NNL in 1968, is a steep-walled, youthful gorge, cut by a wild river through folded and tilted slates and siltstones. The site illustrates the successive processes of sedimentation, rock formation, and erosion. Waterfalls, cliffs, and growth of spruce-fir forest on the gorge walls give the site unusual scenic beauty.

Mona and Monito Islands consists of two separate islands in the Caribbean, west of the main island of Puerto Rico. Designated a NNL in 1975, the sea caves on these islands are some of the largest, most extensive and most unusual in the world. The islands harbor a significant endemic biota and provide important seabird rookery areas.

One of the world's largest and most impressive stratovolcanoes, Mount Shasta contains five glaciers and consists of four distinct but overlapping cones. Located within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, it is the second highest of the 15 main volcanoes in the Cascade range, only Mount Rainier is higher. The site was designated a NNL in 1976.

Point Lobos State Reserve is an outstanding example of terrestrial and marine environments in close association. It is the only known habitat of Monterey cypress and variegated brodiaea, and is one of only two or three areas containing the Gowan's cypress and sea otter. Designated a NNL in 1967, the site is a sanctuary for thousands of sea and shorebirds.

Point Lobos State Reserve is an outstanding example of terrestrial and marine environments in close association. It is the only known habitat of Monterey cypress and variegated brodiaea, and is one of only two or three areas containing the Gowan's cypress and sea otter. Designated a NNL in 1967, the site is a sanctuary for thousands of sea and shorebirds

Red Canyon is a scenic, well-developed example of a dissected cuesta, consisting of gently sloping plains bounded on one edge by an escarpment. The site, designated a NNL in 1980, exposes an outstanding section of Permo-Triassic red beds and displays the northeast flank of the Wind River Range structure.

Torrey Pines State Reserve, designated a NNL in 1977, contains a unique and undisturbed biological community supporting endangered bird species. Torrey pine forests occur naturally only here and on Santa Rosa Island, 175 miles to the northwest. High bluffs and sea cliffs found at this site are good examples of geological processes.