Another chapter in the Maps of WHS: mapping the Core Zones. This, in addition to WHS Map - the data (dealing with coordinates of official locations) and POIs (collecting points of interest on the maps).

I think the Core Zones deserve their own topic, to point out irregularities, findings, or log choices made.

A few general "rules" we apply to mapping the core zones:
- We make 'light' versions (so with as few dots as possible), only a few kb in size so they perform well on the website
- The core zones should be functionally correct, but are not so detailed that you can define within a meter on a boundary whether you have stepped into them (go and look for the OUV anyway!).
- The official map as supplied on the UNESCO website is leading regarding the boundaries. No map or no clear map = no core zone mapped.

If you'd like to map a core zone as well, you can send me a polygon or multipolygon geojson file (1 per WHS).
We may reuse core zone maps published by other sources, provided that they have a fair use policy for non-commercial organizations such as whs.org and the maps aren't too large (too many dots).

So far, we have added core zones to the following 59 WHS:
Aachen Cathedral
Bale Mountains National Park
Bru na Boinne
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Chongoni Rock Art
Comoé National Park
Cesky Krumlov
Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz
Holasovice
Holy Trinity Column
Kladruby nad Labem
Kutna Hora
Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape
Litomysl Castle
Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk
Prague
Telc
Trebic
Tugendhat Villa
Eisinga Planetarium
ESMA Site Museum
FRIM Selangor
Gedi
Genbaku Dome
Giant's Causeway
Independence Hall
Jewish-Medieval heritage of Erfurt
Jongmyo Shrine
Thracian tomb of Kazanlak
Kaziranga National Park
Los Alerces National Park
Mana Pools
Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
Mbanza Kongo
Moidams
Monticello
New Lanark
Ngorongoro
Odzala-Kokoua
Pimachiowin Aki
Québec
Rachid Karami International Fair-Tripoli
The Royal Court of Tiébélé
Ruins of Loropéni
Saloum Delta
Sangha Trinational
Santiniketan
Sceilg Mhichíl
Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District
Statue of Liberty
Tombs of Buganda Kings
Tsodilo
Umm Al-Jimal
Van Nellefabriek
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai
W-Arly-Pendjari Complex
Willemstad

I am currently trying to cover the African national parks, with a few cultural WHS in these countries as well, if the official maps allow.

Two remarks so far:
1. Lamu: I started and tried and tried and failed. There is a map, which is old and has been copied multiple times, but it seems to show the boundaries clearly. However, the houses I see on satellite views don't exactly match. If someone can work with grid rasters, you may get it correct (the 2 piers can serve as points of reference).
2. Dja Faunal Reserve: there is a map that isn't very detailed but seems OK enough. Its contours do not fully match with the boundaries of the official Dja Faunal Reserve as shown on OSM maps. I have adjusted them to match the official map as closely as I could. (Note: Protected Planet, which has mapped all natural WHS (some better than others) shows the Reserve contours, not the official WHS ones)

And regarding Taï National Park, the (significant) minor boundary modification of 2023 has brought the WHS core zone limits beyond those of the National Park, as shown on the revised official map (again, not reflected on Protected Planet)

We have 9 more done, the first 2 thanks to _oscar:
Sydney Opera House
Himeji-jo
Ivindo National Park
Taï National Park
Salonga National Park
Okapi Wildlife Reserve
Garamba National Park
Manovo-Gounda St. Floris
Maloti-Drakensberg Park

I had 2 findings with Maloti-Drakensberg Park, that I believe we had not discovered before:

1. It's a WHS with an enclave. You can see it clearly on the map at the northern tip of the large southern component. I could not find any reference to why this was done in the documentation. When you zoom in, it seems to be the area belonging to the Cathedral Peak Hotel (privately owned land might be the issue).
2. It's a case of Incorrect Number of Locations: or maybe not the number, but the identifier: the 2 parts are listed as uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park in South Africa and Sehlabathebe National Park in Lesotho, however it seems that those two are contiguous. There is a fully separate component though, far north: it consists of the combination of Rugged Glen Nature Reserve and Royal Natal National Park (as per the official documentation)

Peruaçu River Canyon not only had its name changed, its included area is also much smaller than originally foreseen. "As the Xakriabá people have not given consent on the inclusion of the claimed area in the nominated property (see also Section 4.4), the State Party has decided to exclude all claimed areas from the nominated property" (IUCN ev)

(so belongs to the connection Reduced from Broader TWHS)

In fact there is at least another one too..... again associated with privately owned development within the park boundary .....in this case the "Mkomazana Mountain Cottages". It is situated in the southern part of the WHS and can be identified on this Google Map by its rectangular lighter green if you zoom in. Both are visible on the map provided in the Nomination File on page 163 (last page!).
There may or may not be another a short distance North East - a triangular light green area which might or might not be totally surrounded.... it doesn't really matter - there ARE enclaves.

I'm surprised you haven't spotted one a bit closer to home: the Slate Landscape of North West Wales
Component 001 has a large section around Penrhyn Quarry and Bethesda and then is joined to a smaller section at Port Penrhyn by the routes of two rail lines. This means that there is a large area bounded by the Penrhyn Quarry to the south, Port Penrhyn to the north and two narrow routes of railways to west and east that is not inscribed.

For Island of Mozambique there is a second location that we did not have yet listed: Sao Lorenço Island

Indeed ....and Component 2 "Dinorwig Slate Quarry Mountain Landscape" has a more "normal" enclave too = towards the Eastern side.

Making good progress, especially on the African Natural WHS.
Done in the past 24 hours:
Aldabra Atoll
Banc d'Arguin
Gola-Tiwai complex
Island of Mozambique
Lake Turkana
Mapungubwe
Nyungwe National Park
Peruaçu River Canyon
Rwenzori Mountains
Twyfelfontein
Vallée de Mai

The only one of note is Lake Turkana National Parks.

I had never looked at it closely, but it turns out that the lake itself is not included.
Only the 3 national parks are (2 on islands in the lake, 1 at the shore).
I will change the short name we use on this website accordingly from "Lake Turkana" to "Lake Turkana Parks".

The maps are old and a bit clumsy, but still clear enough to create core zones (2 of the components are "just" islands).
The AB ev mentions that a 1km line of water along the coast of the components is also included; however this is not shown on the maps.

85 core zones now covered.
_oscar did:
Borobudur
Kinabalu
Kulangsu

And I did:
Le Morne
Aapravasi Ghat
Kenya Lake System (with the lakes growing out of their core zones, especially Bogoria)