U.S. President Joe Biden designated two California sites -- a swathe of desert significant to native tribes and a dormant volcano -- as national monuments on Tuesday, advancing his record of conserving more U.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday will establish two new national monuments in fire-plagued California, days before he's set to exit the White House, according to U.S. officials.

The declarations bar oil and natural gas drilling, as well as mining and other exploration and production initiatives, on the 624,000-acre Chuckwalla site, and 225,000-acre Sáttítla site.