The following content on Glacier Bay National Park is licenced from National Geographic’s Guide to
National Parks of the United States (9th Edition).
WHEN JOHN MUIR CAME INTO GLACIER BAY for the first time, in 1879, “sunshine streamed through the luminous fringes of the clouds and fell on the green waters of the fiord, the glittering bergs, the crystal bluffs of the vast glacier, the intensely white, far-spreading fields of ice . . . making a picture of icy wildness unspeakably pure and sublime.” Glacier Bay National Park retains that magic, offering everything you want to see in Alaska, viewable in a single day.
The following content on Channel Islands National Park is licenced from National Geographic’s Guide to
National Parks of the United States (9th Edition).
THROWBACK TO BYGONE CALIFORNIA, the Channel Islands lie off the coast between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. These are secluded gathering places for both wildlife and humans who cherish invigorating escapes from big-city life. Their hacienda days long gone, the five isles have devolved back into nature. Here, paddlers share waters with humpback whales, and campers fall asleep to the sound of crashing waves.
The following content on Olympic National Park is licenced from National Geographic’s Guide to
National Parks of the United States (9th Edition).
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK earned widespread recognition (and international biosphere reserve status) because of its grand temperate rainforests —vast valleys of moss-laden forests filled with giant ancient trees and tumbling, crystal-clear rivers. Above the majestic emerald valleys stand glacier-covered peaks and jagged rocky ridges. West of the forested valleys runs a seemingly endless undeveloped stretch of wilderness beach.
The following content on Arches National Park is licenced from National Geographic’s Guide to
National Parks of the United States (9th Edition).
WITHIN THE CLOISTERED WALLS of Zion National Park, where a dramatic 16-mile river canyon has been sculpted of multi-hued sandstone, it is easy to feel profoundly connected to nature. Cliffs soar 2,000 feet, forming monolithic temples of pure stone that evoke a different kind of awe, one that led an early settler of the canyon, Isaac Behunin, to exclaim: “A man can worship God among these great cathedrals as well as in any man-made church—this is Zion!”
The following content on Arches National Park is licenced from National Geographic’s Guide to
National Parks of the United States (9th Edition).
AS THE ANCIENT ROMANS KNEW, there’s something commanding about an arch, something that raises us up. Imagine more than 2,000 of them, hewn of stone, defiantly standing in the face of the erosional forces that created them. The 120 square miles of Arches National Park encompass the world’s most concentrated display of these natural formations. While most arches lie hidden in the park’s deepest recesses, several, such as Delicate Arch, have become icons.
The following content on Great Smoky Mountains is licenced from National Geographic’s Guide to
National Parks of the United States (9th Edition).
WHEN PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT dedicated Great Smoky Mountains National Park, he gave his speech with one foot in North Carolina and the other in Tennessee. It was a fitting gesture given the decades-long cooperative effort to establish a park in the southern Appalachians, an endeavor that involved not just officials in the two states but private groups and even schoolchildren, who pledged pennies to help fund land purchases.
The following content on Congaree National Park is licenced from National Geographic’s Guide to
National Parks of the United States (9th Edition).
IN THE EARLY 21ST CENTURY, the largest intact old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States became Congaree National Park— shedding its ecologically inaccurate swamp designation in the process. It’s among the country’s least crowded parks, with just 129,000 or so annual visitors. Folks mostly stick to the northwestern corner of the park, near the visitor center, thus missing out on the moss-draped tangle of primeval floodplain forest that captivated European explorers in the 16th century.
The following content on Crater Lake National Park is licenced from National Geographic’s Guide to
National Parks of the United States (9th Edition).
MORE THAN 4.6 TRILLION GALLONS OF WATER fill the crater—what remains of Mount Mazama. With a surface area of 21 square miles and depth of 1,943 feet, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. In addition to the size of Crater Lake National Park, it is the stunning sapphire water that etches itself in memory.
Allegheny National Forest Map provides an unparalleled tool for exploring this remarkable region.
The following content on Gateway Arch National Park is licenced from National Geographic’s Guide to
National Parks of the United States (9th Edition).
SINCE ITS COMPLETION IN 1965, the soaring Gateway Arch has become the symbol of St. Louis, and one of the most recognizable urban icons in the world. Designed by architect Eero Saarinen, the arch for 53 years stood as the centerpiece of what was known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.
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