1. National parks in USA
As one of the largest and most frequented countries in the world, the United
States boast an amazing amount of tourist attractions ranging from the
skyscrapers of New York and Chicago, the natural wonders of Yellowstone and
Alaska to the sunny beaches of California, Florida and Hawaii. However, New
York, Chicago, San Francisco and Las Vegas seem to be the main travel
attractions as they represent the high spirit and the fast and happening lifestyle
of the Americans. But, the United States boasts a rich natural wealth that spread
across acres of land in every part of the country with diverse significance. It has
58 protected areas known as national parks, which are operated by the National
Park Service of the Government. And these National parks in USA are the
most demanding tourist attractions in the recent times.
The first national park, Yellowstone was also the world’s first national park, set
aside in 1872 to preserve the vast number of geysers, hot springs, and other
thermal areas, as well as to protect the incredible wildlife and rugged beauty of
the area. It lies on top of a huge hotspot where light, hot, molten mantle rock
rises towards the surface. Subsequently, the park contains half of all the world’s
known geothermal features, with more than 10,000 examples of geysers and hot
springs. In addition, black bears, grizzly bears, deer, elk, bison and wolves can
all be found within the park borders. National Parks were created by the
National Park Service "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."
National parks usually have a variety of natural resources over large areas. Six
amazing national parks are found in Alaska. The newest national park is Great
Sand Dunes, established in 2004.Twenty-seven states are abundant with
national parks, as do the insular areas of American Samoa and the United States
Virgin Islands. Alaska and California have the most, each with eight, followed
by Utah with five and Colorado with four. The largest national park
is Wrangell–St. Elias, at over 8,000,000 acres (32,000 km2). The most-visited
national park is Great Smoky Mountains, with over nine million visitors in
2008. It is a part of the Appalachian Mountains, have a wide range of

2. elevations, making them home to over 400 vertebrate species, 100 tree species,
and 5000 plant species. Hiking is the park's main attraction for the adventurous
tourists who like to explore the terrains. Other activities are fishing, horseback
riding, and visiting some of nearly 80 historic structures. Another popular
national park is Grand Canyon, with over four million visitors. It is located in
northern Arizona and it has been carved over several million years by the
Colorado River. The canyon attains a depth of over 1.6 km (1 mile) and 446 km
(277 miles) long. The Grand Canyon is not the deepest or the longest canyon in
the world but huge size and its elaborate and colorful landscape offers visitor
spectacular visuals that can give a person a lifetime of surprise.
The Hawaii Volcanoes also fall under national parks. This park on the Big
Island protects the Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, two of the world's most
active volcanoes. Diverse ecosystems of the Park Range from those at sea level
to 13,000 feet. Kilauea is the most recent of a series of volcanoes that have
created the Hawaiian Archipelago. It is a very low, flat shield volcano, vastly
different in profile from the high, sharply sloping volcanic peaks. They are
amazing attractions for volcanologists as well as normal tourists. Thirty-three
eruptions have taken place since 1952, not including the current eruption which
started on January 3, 1983 and is still continuing.
The Redwood park in California and protect almost half of all remaining
Coastal Redwoods, the tallest trees on Earth. There are three large river systems
in this very seismically active area, and the 37 miles (60 km) of protected
coastline have tide pools and sea stacks. The prairie, estuary, coast, river, and
forest ecosystems have varied animal and plant species that form a large part of
natural resources.
The United States has a rich natural heritage that are a must visit for tourists
who love to explore the wilderness. Most of these National parks in USA are
well preserved in its pristine original form and they offer breathtaking visuals
and natural wonders that are hard to find in other parts of the world.