Today, there are 49 National Parks in the United
States and more than 300 other places that are
also protected in the National Park system. Many
recognize landmarks and sites of historic importance.
Others are for wildlife protection or recreation.
Nearly all the responsibility of the National Park
Service.
The fast-moving Kings River flows over boulders in
Kings Canyon. This National Park is a collection
of granite mountains and rugged canyons, including
the highest canyon wall in America,rising 8,000 ft.
to the top of Spanish Mountain.
YOSEMITE
Yosemite is one of the most famous and popular
parks in the US. It was one of three to follow
Yellowstone's lead in 1890.
Before Yellowstone was established, the wonders
of Northern California's Sierra Nevada mountains
were well known. In 1864, the Yosemite Valley
and the Mariposa Grove sequoia trees were given
to California by a federal bill. They were to
kept as preserved state land. The park has
761,000 acres.
Massive peaks of smooth, hard granite surround
Yosemite Valley. At the east end, Half Dome rises
to a height of 4,800 feet. At the western end,
El Capitan is 3,600 feet high and MASSIVE.
It may be the largest block of granite in the world.
There are waterfalls too...Bridalveil, Ribbon, Vernal,
Nevada and Illiloutee. Yosemite Falls is the most
famous one of all...the tallest waterfall in North
America and the third highest in the world.
Yosemite has more than 1200 types of flowering
plants and many kinds of trees. The most famous
are the giant sequoias...among the oldest and
largest living things on earth! The Grizzly
Giant at Mariposa Grove is the fifth largest
tree in the world, rising more than 200 feet
toward the sky and more than 2,700 years old.
Sequoia is the second oldest National Park, founded
in 1890, five days before Yosemite. It was founded
to protect the giant sequoias from being cut by loggers.
Sequoias are shorter than the redwoods of No.California
but their trunks are much more massive.
YELLOWSTONE
The first national park is still one of the most remarkable.
It is the largest parkland outside of Alaska, with 2.2
million acres, including the northwest corner of Wyoming
and parts of Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone Lake is
the highest lake in America and the park has its own
Grand Canyon, a deep orange-yellow gorge carved
by the Yellowstone River.
