National parks in the United States

National park locations in the United States (markers are clickable as URL)

The United States has established a variety of national parks . Other protected areas are national monuments ( National Monuments ) , historical parks, memorials , recreation areas, rivers and coastlines. All national parks and some of the other protected areas are administered by the National Park Service , an agency under the US Department of the Interior .

There are currently 62 national parks with an area of ​​211,273 km² (i.e. about double the area of ​​the GDR ). They have been granted National Park protection by the United States Congress .

It was only in later years that nature conservation and education were introduced as further goals of the areas; they are the focus today. In the national parks, a large variety of cultural, geological or biological resources are usually placed under protection. Hunting and mining are usually not allowed. As far as uses existed before the designation of the park, they can be granted grandfathering, for example an ore mine operates in Death Valley National Park (dedicated in 1994).

The character of the individual parks is very different. While the remote parks in Alaska or the Congaree National Park in the swamps of South Carolina largely have a wilderness character, parks near population centers suffer from mass tourism , at least in parts , such as the main valley of Yosemite National Park in central California.

history

The first ideas for the preservation of the partially untouched nature were formulated as early as 1832 by the painter George Catlin . He suggested that the Great Plains “be preserved as a grandiose park through certain far-reaching measures by the state” . However, he saw the parks he was aiming for primarily as undisturbed residential areas for the indigenous people who were threatened in their habitat.

“What an exemplary beautiful and extremely varied area America could preserve and present to future generations of all countries! A park of the nation with people and animals in their untamed and natural beauty. "

A first popularization of the observance of nature and nature protection goes back to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau , who sought spiritual edification in nature. Thoureau realized that protective measures were necessary for her.

John Muir , who was then living in the Yosemite area and visited by Emerson in 1871, then worked tirelessly and vehemently against logging, sheep farming and the creation of protected areas. Among other things, he wrote:

“God took care of these trees, saved them from storms and floods, but He cannot save them from madmen. Only Uncle Sam can do that. "

Some small but not federal protected areas such as Yosemite Valley already existed. Yellowstone National Park was founded in 1872 as the first national park in the United States and also worldwide . The document states the purpose of the area:

"As a public park or place of amusement for the benefit and pleasure of the population."

The national park movement received further impetus from the founding of the conservation organization Sierra Club by Muir and others in 1892. Washington finally acted on the basis of many campaigns and appeals by the establishment of Sequoia, General Grant and Yosemite National Park , probably also because he she considered "utterly worthless territory," agreed. In 1899 the Mount Rainier National Park was created .

The conservationists around Muir then found an important ally in President Theodore Roosevelt . He expanded the area of ​​the state forests by 53 million hectares, set up a network of game reserves and created 18 national parks.

Yet there were still no parks east of the Mississippi. Various problems stood in the way of its establishment. The eastern states were more densely populated than the west, and the culturally undeveloped areas were also largely in private hands. In addition, the landscapes of the east were considered to be less worthy of protection because of the lack of the imposing canyons and mountains of the west. In 1916, John D. Rockefeller , Charles William Eliot, and others bought 2,400 acres of Mount Desert Island off the coast of Maine. The area was later expanded into Acadia National Park . Rockefeller also donated $ 5 million to help establish Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Shenandoah National Park in the Appalachian Mountains in the 1920s .

list

National park	view	State	founding	surface	Visitors (2018)
Acadia		Maine	February 26, 1919	198.60 km²	3,537,575
American Samoa		American Samoa	October 31, 1988	33.41 km²	28,626
Arches		Utah	November 12, 1971	310.31 km²	1,663,557
Badlands		South Dakota	November 10, 1978	982.40 km²	1,008,942
Big bend		Texas	June 12, 1944	3,242.19 km²	440.091
Biscayne		Florida	June 28, 1980	700.00 km²	469.253
Black Canyon of the Gunnison		Colorado	October 21, 1999	124.56 km²	308,962
Bryce Canyon		Utah	February 25, 1928	145.02 km²	2,679,478
Canyonlands		Utah	September 12, 1964	1,366.21 km²	739.449
Capitol Reef		Utah	18th December 1971	978.95 km²	1,227,627
Carlsbad Caverns		New Mexico	May 14, 1930	189.26 km²	465.912
Channel Islands		California	March 5, 1980	1,009.94 km²	366.250
Congaree		South carolina	November 10, 2003	107.81 km²	145.929
Crater Lake		Oregon	May 22, 1902	741.48 km²	720,659
Cuyahoga Valley		Ohio	October 11, 2000	131.81 km²	2,096,053
Death Valley		California	October 31, 1994	13,649.97 km²	1,678,660
Denali		Alaska	February 26, 1917	19,185.79 km²	594,660
Dry tortugas		Florida	October 26, 1992	261.84 km²	56,810
Everglades		Florida	May 30, 1934	5,667.78 km²	597.124
Gates of the Arctic		Alaska	2nd December 1980	30,448.13 km²	9,591
Gateway Arch		Missouri	February 22, 2018	0.78 km²	2,016,180
Glacier		Montana	May 11, 1910	4,099.98 km²	2,965,309
Glacier Bay		Alaska	2nd December 1980	13,044.57 km²	597.915
Grand Canyon		Arizona	February 26, 1919	4,862.89 km²	6,380,495
Grand Tetons		Wyoming	February 26, 1929	1,254.71 km²	3,491,151
Great Basin		Nevada	October 27, 1986	312.34 km²	153.094
Great Sand Dunes		Colorado	September 13, 2004	434.40 km²	442.905
Great Smoky Mountains		Tennessee , North Carolina	June 15, 1934	2,114.19 km²	11,421,200
Guadalupe Mountains		Texas	October 15, 1966	349.52 km²	172,347
Haleakalā		Hawaii	August 1, 1916	134.62 km²	1,044,084
Hawai'i Volcanoes		Hawaii	August 1, 1916	1,317.68 km²	1,116,891
Hot springs		Arkansas	March 4, 1921	22.47 km²	1,506,887
Indiana Dunes		Indiana	15th February 2019	62.11 km²	1,756,079
Isle Royale		Michigan	April 3, 1940	2,313.95 km²	25,798
Joshua Tree		California	October 31, 1994	3,199.59 km²	2,942,382
Katmai		Alaska	2nd December 1980	14,870.29 km²	37,818
Kenai Fjords		Alaska	2nd December 1980	2,709.98 km²	321,596
Kings Canyon		California	March 4th 1940	1,869.25 km²	699.023
Kobuk Valley		Alaska	2nd December 1980	7,084.90 km²	14,937
Lake Clark		Alaska	2nd December 1980	10,602.02 km²	14,479
Let Volcanic		California	August 9, 1916	431.35 km²	499,435
Mammoth Cave		Kentucky	July 1, 1941	218.58 km²	533.206
Mesa Verde		Colorado	June 29, 1906	212.40 km²	563,420
Mount Rainier		Washington	March 2, 1899	956.60 km²	1,518,491
North Cascades		Washington	2nd October 1968	2,042.78 km²	30,085
Olympic		Washington	June 29, 1938	3,733.83 km²	3,104,455
Petrified Forest		Arizona	December 9, 1962	895.93 km²	644.922
Pinnacles		California	January 10, 2013	107.99 km²	222.152
redwood		California	2nd October 1968	562.51 km²	482,536
Rocky Mountain		Colorado	January 26, 1915	1,075.68 km²	4,590,493
Saguaro		Arizona	October 14, 1994	371.16 km²	957.405
Sequoia		California	September 25, 1890	1,635.18 km²	1,229,594
Shenandoah		Virginia	December 26, 1935	806.27 km²	1,264,880
Theodore Roosevelt		North Dakota	November 10, 1978	285.09 km²	749.389
Virgin Islands		American Virgin Islands	2nd August 1956	60.48 km²	112.287
Voyageurs		Minnesota	January 8, 1971	883.02 km²	239,656
White Sands		New Mexico	January 18, 1933	581.7 km²	603.008
Wind Cave		South Dakota	January 9, 1903	137.48 km²	656.397
Wrangell – St. Elias		Alaska	2nd December 1980	49712.61 km²	79,450
Yellowstone		Wyoming , Montana , Idaho	March 1, 1872	8,983.17 km²	4,115,000
Yosemite		California	October 1, 1890	3,082.68 km²	4,009,436
Zion		Utah	November 19, 1919	595.87 km²	4,320,033

Dissolved national parks

National park	founded	dissolved	comment
Abraham Lincoln National Park	July 17, 1916	August 11, 1939	converted into Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site
Fort McHenry National Park	March 3, 1925	August 11, 1939	converted into Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Hawaii National Park	August 1, 1916	September 13, 1960	divided into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Haleakalā National Park
Mackinac National Park	April 15, 1875	Assigned to the State of Michigan on March 2nd, state park status since May 31, 1895	now Mackinac Island State Park
Platt National Park	June 29, 1906	March 17, 1976	now Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Sullys Hill National Park	April 27, 1904	March 3, 1931	now Sullys Hill National Game Preserve

Other protected areas in the USA

The National Monuments have a lower protection status than the National Parks and are usually small to very small protected areas.

National Historical Parks , National Historic Sites , National Memorials, and Battlefields include historical sites, monuments, and battlefields . Often these are individual buildings or smaller regions that have historical significance.

National Recreation Areas, Seashores and Trails are recreation areas , special lakes , rivers , coastal areas and roads , and hiking trails . Wild and Scenic Rivers are protected from massive encroachment, their recreational and landscape value should be preserved.

National Preserves would meet the requirements for designation as a national park, but mining, the extraction of crude oil / gas and mostly hunting are permitted in them. Wilderness areas are unaffected by human interference. Visitors are only allowed to move on foot or, if necessary, in canoes and horses.

National Wildlife Refuges are nature reserves managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service . There is also in the US federal National Forests (National Forest) , by the US Forest Service to manage. In them, mostly only small areas are designated as protected areas, most of the national forests are used commercially by forestry .

Others

In addition to the National Park Service , the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Forest Service , the Bureau of Land Management , Indian reservation administrations, and other state and local institutions are responsible for managing individual parks. The most famous Indian-managed park is Monument Valley .

In addition to the federal government- administered areas listed, the individual states maintain nature reserves designated as state parks .

See also

• United States geography

literature

• Lynn Ross-Bryant: Pilgrimage to the National Parks: Religion and Nature in the United States. Routledge, London 2012, ISBN 978-0-415-89380-0 .
• Philippe Bourseiller: The National Parks of the USA , Knesebeck; Edition 1 (August 2006), ISBN 3-89660-393-0 .
• National Geographic Society : National Geographic's Guide to the National Parks of the United States. 3rd edition National Geographic, 2001 ISBN 0-7922-7028-2 .
• Christian Heeb & Walter Herdich: Journey through the national parks of the USA , Stürtz; 2000, ISBN 3-8003-0980-7 .

Web links

Commons : National Parks in the United States  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• Homepage (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ National Park Service: About us - history : " as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people "
2. ↑ AcreageReports - Land and Water Conservation Fund (US National Park Service). Retrieved April 18, 2019 . 
3. ^ Stats Report Viewer. Retrieved April 18, 2019 . 

This version was added to the selection of informative lists and portals on March 4, 2007 .