National Parks
National Parks
The United States is a BIG place, and if you’re looking for a BIG adventure then you’re in the right place. In the United States there are no less than 58 areas which are protected and known as the national parks, and are all operated by the National Park Service. You’ve probably heard of a few of them at least. The first area to become a national park was Yellowstone in 1872, closely followed by Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. The National Park Service has the job “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations”.
People enjoy the National Park system. Here are the ten most visited parks.
2011 Top 10 Most Visited National Parks |
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National Park |
Recreational Park Visits |
|
1. | Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN, NC) | 9,008,830 |
2. | Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) | 4,298,178 |
3. | Yosemite National Park (CA) | 3,951,393 |
4. | Yellowstone National Park (WY, MT, ID) | 3,394,326 |
5. | Rocky Mountain National Park (CO) | 3,176,941 |
6. | Olympic National Park (WA) | 2,966,502 |
7. | Zion National Park (UT) | 2,825,505 |
8. | Grand Teton National Park (WY) | 2,587,437 |
9. | Acadia National Park (ME) | 2,374,645 |
10. | Cuyahoga Valley National Park (OH) | 2,161,185 |
Source: National Park Service
National Parks in America cover a total area of 210,000 km2, and are spread across 27 different states. The largest is Wrangell – St Elias which covers an area of 32,000 km2, and the smallest is Hot Springs which is less than 24 km2.
Here’s a list of the National Parks of America:
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Denali National Park & Preserve
Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve
Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Katmai National Park & Preserve
Lake Clark National Park & Preserve
National Park of American Samoa
Petrified Forest National Park
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Wrangell – St Elias National Park & Preserve
There are over 51,900,000 acres of national park to enjoy in the United States. What are you waiting for – go and enjoy them!
iNationalParks.com is an informational web site and is not affiliated with the National Park Service.