DK Eyewitness - USA National Parks

The sense of freedom afforded by these spectacular landscapes is unparalleled, whether exploring the countrys oldest national park or its youngest wild wonderland. Weve organized the 62 national parks in order of establishment, each a vital part in the countrys narrative.

Established 1872

Established 1890

Established 1890

Established 1899

Established 1902

Established 1903

Established 1906

Established 1910

Established 1915

Established 1916

Established 1916

Established 1917

Established 1919

Established 1919

Established 1919

Established 1921

Established 1928

Established 1929

Established 1930

Established 1934

Established 1935

Established 1938

Established 1940

Established 1940

Established 1941

Established 1944

Established 1947

Established 1956

Established 1961

Established 1962

Established 1964

Established 1968

Established 1968

Established 1971

Established 1971

Established 1972

Established 1975

Established 1978

Established 1978

Established 1980

Established 1980

Established 1980

Established 1980

Established 1980

Established 1980

Established 1980

Established 1980

Established 1980

Established 1986

Established 1988

Established 1992

Established 1994

Established 1994

Established 1994

Established 1999

Established 2000

Established 2003

Established 2004

Established 2013

Established 2018

Established 2019

Established 2019

Preferred application settings

For the best reading experience, the following application settings are recommended:

• Colour theme: White background
• Scrolling view: [OFF]
• Text alignment: Auto-justification [OFF](if the eBook reader has this feature)
• Auto-hyphenation: [OFF](if the eBook reader has this feature)
• Font style: Publisher default setting [ON](if the eBook reader has this feature)

g

Youll find every imaginable landscape awaiting exploration in the national parks of the United States. Icy monoliths looming in Alaskas Denali, rugged and romantic coastline sweeping through Maines Acadia, craggy volcanic peaks piercing the sky in Californias Pinnacles, lush tropics abuzz with wildlife in Floridas Evergladesand this is just scratching the surface.

In USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder, we celebrate the past, present, and future of the great American wilderness. We begin with , we showcase the 62 stars of the show, each extraordinary and unique in its own right. Within this chapter youll find all sorts of inspiration for your next outdoor adventurefrom backcountry hikes and cycling routes, to stargazing, caving, and wildlife watching. Plus, weve gathered gorgeous photography and thought-provoking tidbits to spark your curiosity and give a flavor of the breathtaking diversity that awaits you.

These national parks belong to everyonenature doesnt care about your age, race, mobility, or education. So, leaf through this book and don your hiking boots, grab your binoculars, forget about your cell phone, and immerse yourself in these true lands of wonder.

g

The immensity and range of Americas wide-open spaces are truly staggeringand theyre all waiting for you to explore. Use this map to plot your next adventure across the countrys national parks, from the showstoppers to the lesser-known gems, and everything in between.

n Double-tap image to read the labels

Alaska

n Double-tap image to read the labels

Hawaii

n Double-tap image to read the labels

Pacific Ocean

n Double-tap image to read the labels

The Caribbean

n Double-tap image to read the labels

g

The Grand Canyon is spectacular from both the ground and the sky

The Story

g

AN ENDURING LEGACY

Many of the national parks in the United States preserve land and historic sites once occupied by American Indian tribes, whose legacy is most tangible in the parks of the American West.

Preserving the works of man

The stewardship we celebrate in the present has deep roots in the traditions and people of the past. The earliest inhabitants of the New World existed by hunting animals and cultivating crops, their lives in rhythm with the changing seasons. Though most of these American Indian tribes were displaced or removed by force in the Plains Wars, from the 1850s through the early 1920s, a number of parks and monuments retain the heritage of cultures spanning thousands of years.

A visit to the dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans at National Park brings you closer to the people who flourished here centuries before the voyage of Christopher Columbus and the colonization of North America. Established in 1906 under the Antiquities Act by President Theodore Roosevelt, Mesa Verde was the first national park set aside specifically to preserve the works of man, as a desire to protect both the natural environment and the cultural legacy of indigenous peoples grew in the national conscience.

In the years that followed, many more American Indian sites were designated monuments and parks under the Antiquities Act. In addition to their natural beauty, areas that include the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, and Zion were also protected for the preservation of artifacts from the Paiute, Shoshone, and Zuni.

The human cost

Tragically, a number of these historic sites saw native people forced from their land and many massacred. Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton were a few of the parks created at the expense of American Indian tribes who were forced to relocate to reservations. But there were those who refused to relent or disarm. In 1890, near what is now Badlands National Park, almost 400 Lakota Sioux were killed or injured in an act of military aggression by the US Army. At the site today called Wounded Knee, a national monument stands to remind us of past injustices and to recognize the people whose land we are obligated to preserve.