President Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, signed proclamations designating five new national monument sites under the Antiquities Act.
Seen here is the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico. The other sites are: First State National Monument in Delaware; Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Maryland; Charles Young
Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Ohio; and San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington state.
Credit: Adriel Heisey
Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in New Mexico
This wilderness area in northern New Mexico includes the Taos Plateau, Ute Mountain, and the Rio Grande Gorge.
Credit: Adriel Heisey
First State National Monument in Delaware
Delaware's first national monument is comprised of five historical properties located within Delaware and in neighboring Pennsylvania. One of the properties, seen here, is the 1,100-acre Woodlawn tract, donated by The Conservation Fund.
Credit: Whitney Flanagan/The Conservation Fund
First State National Monument in Delaware
The 1,100-acre Woodlawn tract is located on the Brandywine Creek river, which witnessed the largest battle of the American Revolution and powered colonial mills that provided paper for Benjamin Franklin's print shop.
Credit: Whitney Flanagan/The Conservation Fund
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Maryland
This site will honor abolitionist Harriet Tubman who escaped slavery and went on to lead hundreds of others to freedom with the Underground Railroad.
Credit: Library of Congress
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument in Maryland
The new monument includes a 480-acre property on Maryland
Credit: The Conservation Fund
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Ohio
Colonel Charles Young, pictured here as a young soldier, was a West Point graduate and leader within the ranks of the legendary "Buffalo Soldiers" African-American regiments of the segregated U.S. military. He was the highest ranking African-American commanding officer in the United States Army from 1894 until his death in 1922.
Credit: Ohio Historical Society
Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Ohio
Colonel Young's home in Wilberforce, Ohio and surrounding lands will become the site for the new national monument.
Credit: Library of Congress
San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington state
About 1,000 acres in the San Juan islands, including small islands, reefs and historical sites, will be protected under the new national monument status.
Credit: Mike Vouri/National Park Service
San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington state
Located in the Puget Sound, these islands are home to many wildlife species, as well as several historical and archeological sites.
Credit: Mike Vouri/National Park Service
San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington state
Three of the islands in this archipelago of over 450 islands, rocks, and pinnacles, will be included in the new national monument.
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