Think you know America’s most iconic landmarks? Think again. A surprising number of Americans struggle to correctly identify the locations of some of the country’s most famous sites, from natural wonders like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone to cultural icons like Grand Central Station and the Jefferson Memorial.
Whether it’s confusion over similar names or a simple lack of geographical knowledge, the results reveal a striking disconnect between recognition and location.
In this article, we’ll explore 12 U.S. landmarks that Americans frequently misplace, highlighting just how easy it is to get turned around, even in your own backyard.
1. Redwood Forest:
Home to the tallest trees on Earth, the Redwood Forest is a natural wonder located in California. The giant Sequoias found here can reach heights of up to 350 feet and are often centuries old.
Despite being one of California’s most incredible natural attractions, nearly half of the survey respondents, forty-nine percent, incorrectly identified its location.
This highlights a lack of awareness regarding the geographic distribution of iconic natural features, even those associated with a specific state known for its unique environment.
2. Shawnee National Forest:
Located in Illinois, this national park features stunning oak groves, lush canyons, and the unique sandstone formations of the Garden of the Gods.
The scenic area offers panoramic views described as unlike anything else in the country. Yet, only a small percentage of Americans, just 35%, correctly placed the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois.
Perhaps more surprisingly, a notable eighteen percent of respondents believed this U.S. national park was located across the Atlantic, in Ireland.
This specific error is particularly telling, suggesting a potential confusion rooted in names or a significant lack of familiarity with less universally famous, though regionally important, U.S. natural sites.
3. Grand Canyon:
The Grand Canyon is undoubtedly one of the most famous natural landmarks in the United States, known for its immense scale and dramatic geological formations.
Carved by the Colorado River, the canyon stretches 277 miles long with walls up to 4,000 feet tall. While most respondents recognized the Grand Canyon itself, accurately locating it on a map proved challenging for many.
Only about four in ten Americans knew it was in Arizona. The most frequent incorrect answer was Colorado, which the source notes is somewhat understandable given the role of the Colorado River in its formation.
However, it still underscores a difficulty in associating the landmark directly with its primary state location.
4. Niagara Falls:
Straddling the border between New York and Canada, Niagara Falls is a spectacular natural feature consisting of three waterfalls. It ranks as the second-largest set of falls globally by volume and width.
The state park housing the American portion of the falls is the nation’s oldest and a major destination for international visitors.
Despite its widespread fame and historical significance, over one in five survey respondents, more than 20%, incorrectly placed Niagara Falls in Iceland instead of on the U.S.-Canada border.
Only 32% of Americans surveyed correctly identified its location. This suggests that even globally recognized landmarks within the U.S. context can be geographically confusing for many Americans.
5. Alcatraz Island:
Off the coast of San Francisco, California, lies Alcatraz Island, famous for its history as a U.S. fort and later as a maximum-security federal penitentiary considered the world’s most secure prison in the 1930s.
The OnePoll survey found that over one in ten respondents seemed entirely unfamiliar with Alcatraz Island, let alone its location.
Another thirteen percent mistakenly believed the island was off the coast of New York. This indicates a lack of geographic knowledge even for landmarks strongly tied to major, well-known cities like San Francisco.
6. Jefferson Memorial:
A prominent structure in Washington, D.C., the Jefferson Memorial sits along the Potomac River and features a neoclassical design.
It is one of several memorials dedicated to the nation’s founding fathers located in the capital city. Despite this concentration of historical memorials in D.C., almost one-third of Americans were unaware the Jefferson Memorial is located there.
While many might recognize the building visually, fewer seem to connect it to its specific geographic placement within the nation’s capital.
7. Grand Central Station:
An iconic transportation hub in New York City, Grand Central Station was built in 1913 and quickly became the busiest train terminal in the U.S..
It continues to see massive foot traffic daily. The study revealed that 40% of Americans could not identify Grand Central Station in New York.
Even its frequent appearances in popular culture, including movies like Men in Black and Superman, don’t seem to solidify its location in the minds of a significant portion of the population.
8. The Space Needle:
An easily recognizable symbol of Seattle, the Space Needle rises over the Puget Sound and offers views of Mt. Rainier. It’s a popular tourist attraction.
According to polling, nearly one in five Americans incorrectly thought the Space Needle was located in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
This geographical mix-up underscores how even unique, modern landmarks associated with major American cities can be misattributed to distant and unrelated locations.
9. The Hoover Dam:
A remarkable engineering achievement completed in 1935, the Hoover Dam is located along the Arizona-Nevada border.
At the time of its construction, it was the world’s largest dam, standing as tall as a 60-story building. It plays a crucial role in generating power for 1.3 million people daily and preventing floods from the Colorado River in Arizona and California.
Despite its significance and scale, only 40% of Americans could correctly identify its location. This suggests a lack of awareness regarding key infrastructure projects and their geographical placement.
10. St. Louis Cathedral:
The St. Louis Cathedral, located in New Orleans, is the oldest continuously running Catholic cathedral in the U.S.. Its name presents a potential source of confusion, leading many Americans to incorrectly assume it’s in St. Louis. Only 30% of Americans correctly identified this historic landmark as being in The Big Easy. This illustrates how even a landmark’s name can contribute to geographic misidentification if not paired with accurate knowledge.
11. Mount Rushmore:
This massive sculpture of influential American presidents carved into the rock of the Black Hills in South Dakota is a widely recognized national monument.
Each presidential face is nearly 60 feet tall, easily visible from nearby roads. Compared to other landmarks on the list, Americans performed relatively better in identifying Mount Rushmore’s location.
Sixty percent of respondents knew it was in South Dakota. However, this still means 40% either got it wrong or couldn’t say, indicating that even highly iconic national symbols aren’t universally placed correctly.
12. Yellowstone:
Yellowstone is the first national park in the U.S. and is renowned for its unique hydrothermal features, including geysers like “Old Faithful”.
Its vast expanse covers parts of three states. Less than a third of Americans correctly identified that Yellowstone extends from Wyoming into Idaho and crosses Montana.
Despite this geographic confusion among the population, Yellowstone remains a popular destination, attracting between three and four million visitors annually, with a record 4.86 million visitors in 2021.
The high visitation numbers coupled with low location knowledge highlight a disconnect between experiencing or knowing of a place and understanding its actual geographic footprint.
Alicia Richards