California has 19 national monuments, the most of any state in the U.S. And more than half of its monuments were proclaimed more than 90 years after the establishment of the Antiquities Act in 1906. The act was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt to protect natural, cultural and historic sites, giving presidents the authority to establish national monuments or expand existing ones by proclamation on existing federal land without approval from Congress.
• See related:
- May 6, 1907 – Lassen Peak and Cinder Cone National Monument
- Jan. 9, 1908 – Muir Woods National Monument
- Jan. 16, 1908 – Pinnacles National Monument
- July 16, 1911 – Devils Postpile National Monument
- Jan. 16, 1913 – Cabrillo National Monument
- Nov. 21, 1925 – Lava Beds National Monument
- Feb. 11, 1933 – Death Valley National Monument
- Aug. 10, 1936 – Joshua Tree National Monument
- April 26, 1938 – Channel Islands National Monument
- Jan. 11, 2000 – California Coastal National Monument
- April 15, 2000 – Sequoia National Monument
- Jan. 17, 2001 – Carrizo Plain National Monument
- April 20, 2012 – Fort Ord National Monument
- Oct. 8, 2012 – Cesar E. Chavez National Monument
- Oct. 10, 2014 – San Gabriel Mountains National Monument
- July 10, 2015 – Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
- Feb. 12, 2016 – Mojave Trails National Monument
- Feb. 12, 2016 – Sand to Snow National Monument
- Feb. 12, 2016 – Castle Mountains National Monument
