The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is a World Heritage site. It is often called Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. The site covers 140,000 square miles (360,000 km2) of ocean waters that includes ten islands and atolls. The size is larger than the country of Greece.
The area was made a national monument by U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush on June 15, 2006. It became a World Heritage site on July 30, 2010.[1]
Papahānaumokuākea supports 7,000 species. One quarter of the species are endemic.