THE NATIONAL PARKS AT A GLANCE 



Chronologically in the order of their creation 



[Number, 14; Total Area, 7,290 Square Miles] 



NATIONAL 





AREA 





PARKS 

 in order of 



LOCATION 



in 



square 



DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS 



creation 





miles 





Hot Springs 



Middle 



1J 



46 hot springs possessing curative properties — Many hotels and 



1832 



Arkansas 





boarding houses — 20 bathhouses under public control. 



Yellowstone 



North- 



3,348 



More geysers than in all rest of world together — Boiling 



1872 



western 





springs — Mud volcanoes — Petrified forests — Grand Canyon 





Wyoming 





of the Yellowstone, remarkable for gorgeous coloring— Large 

 lakes — Many large streams and waterfalls — Vast wilderness 

 inhabited by deer, elk, bison, moose, antelope, bear, moun- 

 tain sheep, beaver, etc., constituting greatest wild bird and 

 animal preserve in world — Altitude 6,000 to 11,000 feet- 

 Exceptional trout fishing. 



Yosemite 



Middle 



1,125 



Valley of world-famed beauty — Lofty cliffs — Romantic vistas — 



1890 



eastern 





Many waterfalls of extraordinary height — 3 groves of big 





California 





trees — High Sierra— Large areas of snowy peaks — Waterwheel 

 falls — Good trout fishing. 



Sequoia 



Middle 



237 



The Big Tree national park — 12,000 sequoia trees over 10 feet in 



1890 



eastern 





diameter, some 25 to 36 feet in diameter — Towering mountain 



• 



California 





ranges— Startling precipices — Fine trout fishing. 



General Grant 



Middle 



4 



Created to preserve the celebrated General Grant Tree, 35 feet 



1890 



eastern 





in diameter — 6 miles from Sequoia National Park and under 





California 





same management. 



Mount Rainier 



West 



324 



Largest accessible single peak glacier system — 14 glaciers, some 



1899 



central 





of large size — Forty-eight square miles of glacier, fifty to five- 





Washington 





hundred feet thick — Wonderful sub-alpine wild flower fields. 



Crater Lake 



South- 



249 



Lake of extraordinary blue in crater of extinct volcano, no 



1902 



western 





inlet, no outlet — Sides 1,000 feet high — Interesting lava for- 





Oregon 





mations—Fine trout fishing. 



Mesa Verde 



South 



77 



Most notable and best preserved prehistoric cliff dwellings in 



1906 



western 

 Colorado 





United States, if not in the world. 



Piatt 



Southern 



11 



Many sulphur and other springs possessing medicinal value, 

 under Government regulation. 



1906 



Oklahoma 



Glacier 



North- 



1,534 



Rugged mountain region of unsurpassed Alpine character — 





1910 



western 





250 glacier-fed lakes of romantic beauty — 60 small glaciers — 





Montana 





Peaks of unusual shape — Precipices thousands of feet deep — 

 Almost sensational scenery of marked individuality — Fine 

 trout fishing. 



Rocky Mountain. 



North 



358 



Heart of the Rockies— Snowy range, peaks 11,000 to 14,250 feet 



1915 



middle 

 Colorado 





altitude— Remarkable records of glacial period. 



National Parks of less popular interest are: 



SullysHill, 1904, North Dakota Wooded hilly tract on Devih Lake. 



Wind Cave, 1903, South Dakota Large natural cavern. 



Casa Grande Ruin, 1892, Arizona Prehistoric Indian ruin. 



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