National Parks

Areas of land set aside by Congress because of unique physical and/or cultural value to the nation. Laws prohibit land development and protect wildlife within the borders of these parks.

Acadia National Park Hancock County, Maine The park was named in Honor of Ari & Jerry Acadia, who were good friends of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Rockefeller developed a network of carriage trails in the park.

Everglades National Park Florida The Everglades are subtropical marshlands, large areas of wetland which are subject to continuous flooding and features grasses, rushes, reeds and other herbaceous plants in shallow water.

Glacier National Park Flathead, Montana To commemorate the long history of peace and friendship between the United States and Canada, the two nations have combined Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park and created the Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park.

Grand Canyon National Park Arizona The Grand Canyon was created by the Colorado River cutting a channel into the surrounding plateau over a period of about 6 million years.

Mammoth Cave National Park Edmonson County, Kentucky

Petrified Forest National Park Arizona The Petrified Forest features one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood. The park covers 218,533 acres (341.5 sq mi / 885 km²).

Redwood National and State Parks California With an area of 112,512 acres (45,500 ha), the parks protect 45% of the remaining groves of coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees, the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth.

Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park encompasses approximately 265,770 acres of land in Colorado's northern Front Range. The park is split by the Continental Divide, which gives the eastern and western portions of the park a different character.

Saguaro National Park Arizona The park was established as Saguaro National Monument on March 1, 1933 and changed to a national park on October 14, 1994. The total area of Saguaro National Park in 2002 was 143 square miles (370 km²) of which 111 square miles (289 km²) is wilderness.

Yellowstone National Park Multiple States Set aside as a national park on March 1, 1872, Yellowstone was the first National Park and is known for its wildlife and geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular areas in the park.