Kyle Magnuson

United States of America \ Member since March 2010

#501 104 37 3


I live and work in Los Angeles, California, though I am originally from the Midwest. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in History at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and a Master's degree in Teaching (Social Studies) from the University of Southern California (USC). As an undergraduate I completed coursework in China, Scotland, and Korea. As a member of AmeriCorps in my 20's, I provided educational services to communities throughout Los Angeles, which led to a career in Education. Today, I am a founding teacher at a middle school, where I teach United States History.

I have contributed an overabundance of information to the country page and forum for South Korea. I consider Korea to be one the great rewards for world heritage travelers. Firstly, a high number of accessible WHS reachable by efficient public transport. Secondly, excellent interpretation and management of each site, including translation. Lastly, the public awareness and domestic interest in world heritage in Korea is exceptional, including world heritage themed festivals and campaigns for aspiring nominations. 

I often travel plan and create lists/goals regarding future trips. While I'm not a completist World Heritage traveller, I certainly focus on World Heritage sites when planning. Listed below are the sites I hope to visit during the next few years.

My Flickr

Complete California

World Heritage Planning 2025-2030

Argentina/Uruguay/Brazil (9 WHS)

  • The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier (Argentina)
  • ESMA Museum and Site of Memory (Argentina)
  • Cordoba (Argentina)
  • Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay)
  • Iguazu National Park (Argentina) *Top 100
  • Iguacu (Brazil) *Top 100
  • Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
  • Valongo Wharf (Brazil)
  • Sítio Roberto Burle Marx (Brazil)

Australia (7 WHS)

  • K’gari Fraser Island (Queensland)
  • Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (Queensland)
  • Sydney Opera House (New South Wales)
  • Greater Blue Mountains Area (New South Wales)
  • Australian Convict Sites (New South Wales)
  • Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens (Victoria)
  • Budj Bim Cultural Landscape (Victoria)

Azores - Bermuda (2 WHS)

  • Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroismo in the Azores
  • The Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda

Baja California Mexico (1 WHS)

  • Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino

Botswana/Namibia (3 WHS)

  • Okavango Delta *Top 100
  • Namib Sand Sea *Top 100
  • Twyfelfontein

Canada - East (9 WHS)

  • Grand Pré
  • Gros Morne National Park *Top 100
  • Joggins Fossil Cliffs
  • L'Anse aux Meadows
  • Mistaken Point
  • Old Québec
  • Old Town Lunenburg
  • Red Bay Basque Whaling Station
  • Rideau Canal

Canadian Prairie Provinces (4 WHS)

  • Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi
  • Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
  • Dinosaur Provincial Park
  • The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks *Top 100

Caribbean (4 WHS)

  • Historic Bridgetown (Barbados)
  • Morne Trois Pitons (Dominica)
  • Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique (France)
  • La Fortaleza (Puerto Rico)

China via Shanghai (3 WHS)

  • Classical Gardens of Suzhou
  • The Grand Canal
  • Migratory Bird Sanctuaries

China via Shenyang (1 WHS)

  • Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom

France (9 WHS)

  • The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier
  • Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
  • Chartres Cathedral
  • The Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
  • Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the "Triumphal Arch" of Orange
  • Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge
  • Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct)
  • Maison Carrée de Nîmes
  • Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments

Ghana/South Africa via Cape Town (2 WHS)

  • Forts and Castles, Central Region (Ghana) *Cape Coast/Elmina
  • Cape Floral Region
  • Robben Island

Gulf States (7 WHS)

  • Qal'at al-Bahrain (Bahrain)
  • Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy (Bahrain)
  • Dilmun Burial Mounds (Bahrain)
  • Aflaj Irrigation System (Oman)
  • Bahla Fort (Oman)
  • Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn (Oman)
  • Al Zubarah Archaeological Site (Qatar)

India - Western Coast, Sri Lanka & Seychelles (12 WHS)

  • Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai (India)
  • Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (India)
  • Elephanta Caves (India)
  • Churches and Convents of Goa (India)
  • Valley de Mai Nature Reserve (Seychelles)
  • Sacred City of Kandy (Sri Lanka)
  • Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications (Sri Lanka)
  • Central Highlands (Sri Lanka)
  • Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple (Sri Lanka)
  • Ancient City of Sigiriya (Sri Lanka)
  • Ancient City of Polonnaruwa (Sri Lanka)
  • Sacred City of Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka)

Japan (9 WHS)

ICN Flight to Tokyo

  • National Museum of Western Art (Le Corbusier)
  • Shrines and Temples of Nikko
  • Mount Fuji
  • Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 
  • Hiraizumi Temples and Gardens

Busan to Fukuoka Ferry

  • Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region
  • Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution
  • Yakushima

ICN Flight to Hokkaido

  • Shiretoko

Jordan (4 WHS)

  • Petra *Top 100
  • Umm al-Jimal
  • Um er-Rasas (Kastron Mefa'a)
  • Wadi Rum Protected Area

Mongolia (2 WHS)

  • Deer Stone Monuments
  • Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape

Nordic/Baltic Nations (8 WHS)

  • Visby (Sweden)
  • Karlskrona (Sweden)
  • Birka and Hovgarden (Sweden)
  • Fortress of Suomenlinna (Finland)
  • Tallinn (Estonia) *ferry from Helsinki
  • Struve Geodetic Arc - Tartu Observatory (Estonia)

Sweden via driving (2 WHS) *Malmö to Oslo

  • Grimeton Radio Station (Sweden)
  • Rock Carvings in Tanum (Sweden)

Northern Mexico via driving (1 WHS)

  • Nuevo Casas Grandes: Archaeological Zone of Paquimé

Rwanda/Zambia (3 WHS)

  • Memorial sites of the Genocide (Rwanda)
  • Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda)
  • Victoria Falls *Top 100 

Sicily - Malta - Tunisia (11 WHS)

  • Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (Italy)
  • Mount Etna (Italy)
  • Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (Italy)
  • Villa Romana del Casale (Italy)
  • City of Valletta (Malta)
  • Megalithic Temples (Malta)
  • Hal Saflieni Hypogeum (Malta)
  • Isole Eolie (Italy)
  • Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale (Italy)
  • Medina of Tunis (Tunisia)
  • Archaeological Site of Carthage (Tunisia)

Slovenia/Italy (3 WHS)

  • The Works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  • Škocjan Caves (Slovenia)
  • Venice (Italy) *Top 100

Southern Spain (4 WHS)

  • Historic Centre of Cordoba *Top 100
  • Caliphate City of Medina Azahara
  • Cathedral, Alcazar and Archivo de Indias in Seville *Top 100
  • Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzin, Granada *Top 100

Thailand/Cambodia (5 WHS)

  • Historic City of Ayutthaya (Thailand)
  • The Ancient Town of Si Thep (Thailand)
  • Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai Forest Complex (Thailand)
  • Angkor (Cambodia) *Top 100
  • Koh Ker (Cambodia)

United Kingdom (12 WHS)

  • Flow Country
  • The Heart of Neolithic Orkney
  • Frontiers of the Roman Empire
  • Durham Castle and Cathedral
  • City of Bath
  • Great Spa Towns of Europe
  • Stonehenge
  • Kew Gardens
  • Westminster
  • Tower of London
  • Maritime Greenwich
  • Blenheim Palace

United States/Canada (2 WHS)

  • Alaska: Glacier Parks / Wrangell-St. *Top 100
  • Canada: Tr’ondëk-Klondike

Yucatán Peninsula Mexico via train (6 WHS)

  • Sian Ka'an
  • Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza *Top 100
  • Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal
  • Historic Fortified Town of Campeche
  • Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque *Top 100
  • Ancient Maya City of Calakmul, Campeche *Top 100

Travel Plans [Country List]

My most impressive site: Yellowstone, Machu Picchu

My proposal for a new site: Native/Indigenous Sites in the United States: (1) Ancestral Lands of the Diné: Canyon de Chelly & Monument Valley (2) Coso Rock Art Historic District (3) Heritage of the Hawaiian Kingdom (4) Rock Art of the Chumash People (5) Sinagua Cultural Landscape 6) Southwestern Utah: Canyonlands and Bears Ears Cultural Landscape 7) Grand Canyon National Park (cultural criteria)

Check out my website: http://completecalifornia.weebly.com/

Recent Visits
  • 0
    1
    July 30, 2025
    Korea Summer 2025: Stone Buddhas and Pagodas at Hwasun Unjusa Temple
  • 1
    0
    July 21, 2025
    Korea Summer 2025: Gyeongju
  • 0
    1
    July 9, 2025
    Korea Summer 2025: Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats (Extension)
Top 10 Missing
  1. Angkor 4.72
  2. Petra 4.61
  3. Galapagos Islands 4.60
  4. Rome 4.58
  5. Venice and its Lagoon 4.52
  6. Ancient Thebes 4.51
  7. Pyramids (Memphis) 4.51
  8. Rapa Nui 4.49
  9. Victoria Falls 4.48
  10. Tikal National Park 4.47
Completed Countries

About Kyle Magnuson

Member since
March 2010
Country of Origin
United States of America
Visits
Rank
#501
WHS
104
Tentative Sites
37
Website Participation
Reviews
156
Ratings

Ratings

World Heritage Sites
Tentative Sites
101 39
Locations
92
Zones
0
Reserved for members.

Reviews by Kyle Magnuson

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Temple of Heaven by Kyle Magnuson

Temple of Heaven (Inscribed)

Temple of Heaven

One of my very first WHS in 2006, the Temple of Heaven is one of the premier examples of Chinese traditional architecture. The exquisite wooden structure is one of a …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 28/01/15
UNAM Mexico City (KJM)

Central University City Campu… (Inscribed)

Monumental Project 1949-1952

I fell in love with this campus the more time I spent within its boundaries. Firstly, there are several dominant murals, but there are also several "hidden" ones that I …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 02/01/15
Mexico City (KJM 2014)

Mexico City and Xochimilco (Inscribed)

Mexico City: Late 19th and Early 20th Century

Most reviews have covered the Zocalo, the Palace of Fine Arts, and Templo Mayor. However, I noticed no mention of the Regina Cultural Corridor (Street) which is clearly included in …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 02/01/15
Teotihuacan (KJM)

Teotihuacan (Inscribed)

First of the Great Civilizations of Mesoamerica

We spent a good five hours exploring the full extent of the inscribe area. Teotihuacan is a place that you should consider careful planning. Don't mistake the Pyramid of the …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 02/01/15
Chapultepec (KJM)

Chapultepec Woods, Hill and C… (On tentative list)

Monarchist Origins of Chapultepec Castle

There are four sections to this park, and I am unsure what sections would be included in a world heritage bid. If you are a visitor to Mexico City you …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 02/01/15
White Sands National Park

White Sands National Monument (On tentative list)

Largest Gypsum Dune Field in the World

My visit in late November to White Sands National Park is truly a unique experience. White Sands is an easy inscription, there is little to persuade in any nomination file …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 02/12/14
Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon (Inscribed)

North Rim & Grand Canyon West

I've waited to review the Grand Canyon until I visited the South Rim, North Rim, and "Grand Canyon West". I have now visited Grand Canyon National Park (5) times, and …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 02/09/14
Qhapaq Ñan by Kyle Magnuson

Qhapaq Ñan (Inscribed)

Qhapaq Ñan

I've visited three major elements of the Qhapac Nan WHS in Peru.

- Pachacamac

- Cuzco

- Inca Gaka - Qollotayoc

- Raqchi

1) Pachacamac …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 10/07/14
South China Karst (KJM)

South China Karst (Inscribed)

Meandering Down the Li River

The South China Karst is a wonder to behold. During my time in Guangxi province in 2006 the skies were blue, there was often a pleasant breeze, and the Li …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 07/07/14
Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor by Kyle Magnuson

Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan… (Inscribed)

Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor

Xi'an is probably the starting point for visiting this massive WHS. How appropriate, because during the golden age of Tang Dynasty China, "All roads led to Chang'an." My visit took …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 30/04/14
The Forth Bridge

Forth Bridge (Inscribed)

The Forth (Rail) Bridge: From All Angles

I visited the Forth Bridge in 2007. The picturesque monument is impressive. My experience at the bridge was based on an afternoon visit to Queensferry, and traveling across the Firth …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 11/03/14
El Pinacate

El Pinacate (Inscribed)

Introduction to El Pinacate

Leaving Los Angeles at 5am, roughly 8 hours later my wife and I found ourselves crossing the border into Mexico at Lukeville, Arizona. No hassle and very quick. From here …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 03/03/14
Buseoksa (Sansa)

Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Mona… (Inscribed)

A Testament to Korean Buddhism

Many visitors to Korea visit Bulguksa or Haeinsa. Both contain Buddhist treasures and provide a great introduction to Korean temples. Yet, I would claim they are not the best representative …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 17/12/13
Taos Pueblo

Taos Pueblo (Inscribed)

Living Culture of Taos

On the morning of November 30th, after a short drive from Santa Fe, my wife and I reached Taos Pueblo. I knew all the particulars about price, pictures, and the …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 03/12/13
Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade by Kyle Magnuson

Trading Posts and Fortificati… (On tentative list)

Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade

I was surprised to find I had actually visited a site included in this nomination. During the Fall of 2007 I had the great pleasure of spending 5 days in …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 20/04/13
Edinburgh

Edinburgh (Inscribed)

Studying in Scotland: Edinburgh Weekends

I've had the great pleasure of spending 6 months in Scotland as a student from September to December 2007. During this opportunity I spent countless days exploring every corner and …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 15/11/12
Summer Palace by Kyle Magnuson

Summer Palace (Inscribed)

Summer Palace

The Summer Palace is a great place to spend a couple hours. The site is large enough that it seems far less busy than some of the other WHS in …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 13/11/12
Machu Picchu by Kyle Magnuson

Machu Picchu (Inscribed)

Machu Picchu

One of the greatest world heritage sites, Machu Picchu is one of the true manmade wonders. The location is stunning, and the ruins are in excellent condition. However, like the …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 13/11/12
Chaco Culture

Chaco Culture (Inscribed)

The Center of an Ancient World (850 to 1250 CE)

Chaco is one of many great archaeological sites scattered throughout the Southwest, though what makes it exceptional is the culture that emerged here and flourished over centuries. Chaco Culture is …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 15/09/12
Cahokia

Cahokia Mounds (Inscribed)

Mound Builders: Cahokia

Cahokia is worth a stop for anyone visiting St. Louis. It is a nice side trip from the city. If you are visiting the area solely for the Cahokia Mounds …

Keep reading Kyle Magn… 14/09/12
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