Types of Monuments
- Equestrian monuments are statues that depict famous people on horseback. This type of monument is typically reserved for great war leaders and heroes. The bases of equestrian monuments usually have plaques explaining the subject on the monument. Equestrian monuments exist worldwide, including in the U.S. Examples are the statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., and Jose de San Martin Monument in New York City's Central Park.
- Throughout the U.S., natural monuments are available to tourists. These monuments are unique landmarks carved out by the forces of nature. These types of monuments include large rock formations, ocean inlets and canyons. Devil's Tower, a large rock formation in Wyoming, was declared by President Theodore Roosevelt as national monument, making it the first natural monument to receive this honor. Other natural monuments include Canyons of the Ancients, Carrizo Plain, Craters of the Moon and Cape Krusenstern. Natural monuments in the U.S. receive government protection.
- The U.S., and other countries, honors its military leaders and servicemen by erecting monuments. The styles of military monuments includes tall memorials, life-size statues of soldiers and water fountains. In the U.S., many of the military monuments are in Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. Some U.S. military monuments include the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia; World War II Memorial in D.C.; and the First Pennsylvania Calvary Monument in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Famous international military landmarks are the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and Wellington Monument in Somerset, England.
- When a monument's history dates back before recorded history, it is a prehistoric monument. In different parts of the world, the ages of these monuments differ. Prehistoric monuments in Europe and Asia are thousands of years old, since ancient civilizations--Egyptian, Roman and Greek--had recorded histories. North and South American prehistoric monuments, though, may be less than 1,000 years old. Examples of prehistoric monuments include Stonehenge in England, the artwork in the Cave of Lascaux, France, and the Anasazi ruins in Arizona.
