▲

The Earth is constantly changing, for better or for worse. Some of America’s most unique and stunning destinations aren’t immune to that, and are facing imminent changes. From rising temperatures to habitat loss and the strain of heavy tourism, these places will be gone before we know it.

Check out these breathtaking destinations compiled in the US you need to visit before they’re gone forever.

▲

Rising temperatures are causing the permafrost of America's second-largest national park to melt. This phenomenon causes the early greening of vegetation, the conversion of tundra into forest, landslides, and decreased water quality, all of which affect the native caribou.

▲The park, known for its ruins built by ancient Pueblo people, are visibly decaying and may soon disappear.

▲The largest subtropical wilderness in the continental United States is remarkable for a number of reasons: It houses more than 350 species of birds and is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles coexist. However encroaching urban development, reduced water flow, and pollution from farms have destroyed more than half of the original Everglades.

▲Once home to more than 150 glaciers, the park now has fewer than 25, a number that will likely continue to decrease.

▲Rising water temperatures are causing coral bleaching and ocean acidification, which dissolves the calcium carbonate foundation of corals. Its deterioration also results in stronger, more powerful hurricanes.

▲Home to the largest number of glaciers in the lower 48 states, the park's glaciers are retreating, which severely affects the surrounding rivers and streams that feed off of them.

▲America's oldest national park is threatened by several problems, including insufficient infrastructure to handle the millions of visitors it receives each year. Other threats include air pollution from snowmobiles, and the decline of its whitebark pines due to bark beetles.

▲

One of America's most iconic destinations is endangered by different development proposals, ranging from tourist resorts to mining. Another threat is the tamarisk, an invasive shrub originally brought in to stabilize the erosion of riverbeds that is now robbing native riparian plants of necessary light, nutrients, and water.

▲The glacier has lost about half of its thickness since the 1980s, and researchers predict the 32-mile-long glacier's length will decrease to 26 mi by 2020.

▲The parks that protects almost 5,000 known archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings of the ancestral Pueblos, is facing devastating consequences due to wildfires.

▲The park that houses the tallest peak in North America is threatened by rising temperatures, which causes its glaciers to melt and reduces snowfall.

▲The national lakeshore famous for its colorful sandstone cliffs is experiencing warmer air and water temperatures, which affects the natural ecosystem.

▲First protected in 1864, the park is one of the most popular in the country. However, the droughts that have ravaged California are taking a toll on the park's wildlife.

▲The popular winter destination that houses more than 300 mi of hiking trails is facing severe consequences from excessive tourism.

▲America's tallest brick lighthouse is at risk of collapse due to rising sea levels.

▲America's largest national park—and the world's second largest—is suffering severe consequences in light of increasing numbers of all-terrain vehicles, which harms its trails and streams.

▲Spanning more than 404,000 acres, the park's giant sequoias are at risk of destruction due to the wildfires that have been ravaging the state.

▲Climate change and an increase in tree pests threaten the park's ecosystem along its stunning mountains, ocean shoreline, woodlands, and lakes.

▲The world's largest natural arch spans 290 ft across but is only 6 ft thick at its narrowest point, which means it could collapse at any moment.

▲Rising ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, and coral bleaching are the major threats the park currently faces.

▲Famous for its petroglyphs—dwellings carved into rock cliffs and standing masonry walls—that serve as evidence of a human presence in the area dating back more than 11,000 years, this monument is at increased risk of permanent danger due to wildfires.

▲Lakes cover about 40% of the park, but water is becoming more and more scarce and the park could soon look very different.

▲This active volcanic park is best known for the thousands of brown bears that come here to feed on salmon. However, like many other parks in Alaska, this area is also being severely impacted by changing temperatures.

▲Spanning about 310,000 acres, this park is popular among fishermen, but warming water temperatures threaten its trout population.

▲This national park, which houses the famous Fort Jefferson, is at risk in light of rising sea levels, coastal erosion, warming water temperatures, ocean acidification, and coral bleaching.

▲Famous for its Joshua trees—tree-sized yuccas—the park is suffering rapid change due to increased temperatures and decreased moisture, which heavily affects the yuccas.

▲Some of the challenges that threaten this Hawaiian park include rising temperatures, drier conditions, invasive species and disease, which disturb endemic species.

▲Located just 75 mi from Washington, D.C., the area is facing increased air pollution. The levels already rival those of metropolitan areas.

▲This ancient place of refuge and sanctuary, where Hawaiians could escape punishment after breaking a kapu—one of the ancient laws—is in danger of disappearing due to rising sea levels.

▲Like many other snow-covered parts of Alaska, this national park is facing consequences from rising temperatures and a drier climate, which leads to earlier spring snowmelt, reduced sea ice, and shrinking glaciers, among other issues that disturb the local ecosystem.

▲Home to the tallest trees on earth, this park is at risk due to human land development and burl poaching.

▲This famous NASA launch site is facing challenges resulting from storm surges that regularly breach sand dunes nearby.

▲Hawaii's oldest island (geologically) is being threatened by flooding, hurricanes, tsunamis, and coastal erosion that result from rising sea levels.

▲The site where the Sons of Liberty famously plotted the Boston Tea Party lies within Boston's 100-year tidal flood zone.

▲This national park, which is home to Maui's highest peak, is facing challenges arising from higher temperatures and drier conditions, disease, and invasive species.

▲Rising sea levels and increased chances of storms threaten the ecosystem of this 27,000-acre area.

▲This 15-mile area that hugs the southern shore of Lake Michigan is facing challenges due to a rising sea level, which impacts its more than 1,400 species of plants and more than 350 species of birds.

▲Built in 1695 by the Spanish, America's oldest masonry fort faces threats from rising sea levels and storms.

▲

Native Alaskans arrived on this land by crossing the Bering Straight some 35,000 years ago from south Siberia, making this preserve prime real estate for historical artifacts. But temperatures and permafrost degradation threaten to wash them away and they could all be gone soon.

▲America's most visited national park (with about 10 million visitors a year) is at risk due to smog that is high in sulfur dioxide, resulting from the nearby old-fashioned coal-fired power plants and the increasing amount of vehicles.

▲The area where visitors can see the foundation of homes built by the Jamestown settlers in the 1620s could be completely submerged in water by the end of the next century.

▲This coastal park faces challenges posed by invasive algae from agricultural runoff, rising phosphate levels, and invasive mussel species.

▲A proposed eight-story office tower could block off the scenic view of the New Jersey cliffs along the Hudson River. The project broke ground in 2017 after environmental groups and LG Electronics reached an agreement to lower the height of the planned building.

▲Nearly all of Liberty Island was flooded during Hurricane Sandy, and future storms could completely destroy it.

▲

This monument faces threats resulting from sea levels in the Chesapeake Bay, which have risen at almost twice the global rate.

▲America's largest stone fort could be permanently damaged as a consequence of rising sea levels.

▲

This sacred site to the San Carlos Apache and other American Indian tribes is severely threatened by a land exchange provision in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 that could open the site up to mining.

▲

This Alaskan village is susceptible to coastal erosion, and has already lost some homes to the sea as land is ripped away by stormy swells.

▲This location was included in a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists in 2014 as being severely threatened by climate change.

▲

The park's 1,160 acres covers fishponds, ancient structures used for fishing, burial caves, and a restored 1-mile portion of the ancient King's Trail footpath, all of which could be gone due to erosion.

Sources: (Weather)