London ( CNN ) -- Coal slag heaps up to 450-feet high may not seem the obvious candidates to join a list that includes the pyramids of Egypt , the Great Wall of China , and Yellowstone National Park . But the remnants of a once-thriving mining industry in northern France have now been included in a roll call of the world 's greatest landmarks . The Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin has been designated a World Heritage site by the U.N. 's cultural organization , UNESCO , and is now ranked alongside nearly 1,000 sites across the globe considered to have outstanding value . Coal was extracted from the region from the 17th to the 20th century , when it suffered an economic slump . Now , after a 10-year campaign , locals are aiming to promote as tourist attractions the old pits , railway stations , workers ' estates and mining villages . `` It 's important as a piece of history in that part of the world , '' said UNESCO spokesperson Susan Williams . `` It does n't have to be pretty ... but it does have to be of outstanding universal value , in other words important for the whole of humanity . The locals have been so excited about this . This is a site they are very appreciative of , '' she said . In its summary , UNESCO said the mining region was a `` remarkable cultural landscape '' and provided `` exceptional testimony to the exchange of ideas and influences regarding the extraction methods used for underground coal seams , the design of worker housing and urban planning , as well as the international human migration that accompanied the industrialization of Europe . '' The Word Heritage Committee meets once a year to implement the convention defining the kind of natural of cultural sites that can be considered for the prestigious list . The Calais basin is one of three mining sites that made the list this year . Among the 26 additions for 2012 were the Lakes of Ounianga in Chad , Africa , the Chengjiang fossil site in the Yunnan province of China , the decorated farmhouses of Halsingland in Sweden and the Margravial Opera House at Bayreuth in Germany . Nominations for heritage status have to meet the UNESCO criteria agreed by member states and come up with a long-term management plan before they can be scrutinized and judged . However , heritage status does not necessarily guarantee protection . UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova said news that mausoleums in Timbuktu , Mali , had been destroyed by Islamic militants was `` extremely distressing '' and called on all parties involved in the conflict to `` protect this invaluable cultural heritage for future generations . '' In 2001 the Taliban destroyed part of another of the world 's treasures -- the huge Buddha statues in the Bamiyan Valley on the ancient Silk Road in Afghanistan . Both of these sites are included on a list of 38 sites that are threatened .
World Heritage status has been given to the Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin in northern France . UNESCO says the mining region is a `` remarkable cultural landscape '' The Calais basin is one of three mining sites that made the list this year . The Lakes of Ounianga in Chad were among 26 additions to the heritage list in 2012 .