Glimpses of Our National Monuments

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Glimpses of Our
National Monuments

THE NATIONAL PARKS AT A GLANCE

[Number, 23; total area, 12,431 square miles]

Name	Location	Area in square miles	Distinctive characteristics
Acadia 1919	Maine coast	16	The group of granite mountains upon Mount Desert Island and also bold point on opposite mainland across Frenchmans Bay—Formerly called the Lafayette National Park.
Bryce Canyon 1928	Southwestern Utah	23	Box canyon filled with countless array of fantastically eroded pinnacles—Best exhibit of vivid coloring of earth's materials.
Carlsbad Caverns 1930	Southeastern New Mexico	1-1/8	Beautifully decorated limestone caverns, believed to be largest yet discovered.
Crater Lake 1902	Southwestern Oregon	249	Lake of extraordinary blue in crater of extinct volcano—Skies 1,000 feet high—Interesting lava formations—Fine fishing.
General Grant 1890	Middle eastern California	4	Created to preserve the celebrated General Grant Tree, 40.3 feet in diameter—31 miles by trail from Sequoia National Perk.
Glacier 1910	Northwestern Montana	1,534	Rugged mountain region of unsurpassed alpine character—250 glacier-fed lakes of romantic beauty—60 small glaciers—Precipices thousands of feet deep—Almost sensational scenery of marked individuality—Fine trout fishing.
Grand Canyon 1919	North central Arizona	1,009	The greatest example of erosion and the most sublime spectacle in the world.
Grand Teton 1929	Northwestern Wyoming	150	Includes moat spectacular portion of Teton Mountains, an uplift of unusual grandeur.
Great Smoky Mountains (proposed) 1930	North Carolina and Tennessee	248	This area is not to be developed ss a national park until at least 427,000 acres have been donated to the United States, as specified in the organic act. Meanwhile the park area of 158,876.50 acres already in Federal owners-hip is being protected by the National Park Service.
Hawaii 1916	Hawaii	245	Interesting volcanic areas—Kilauea and Mauna Loa, active volcanoes on the island of Hawaii; Haleakala, a huge extinct volcano on the island of Maui.
Hot Springs 1921	Middle Arkansas	1-1/2	6 hot springs said to possess healing properties— Many hotels and boarding houses—19 bath houses under Government. supervision. Reserved by Congress in 1812 as the Hot Springs Reservation to prevent exploitation of hot waters.
Lassen Volcanic 1916	Northern California	163	Only active volcano im United States proper— Lassen Peak, 10,413 feet—Cinder Cone, 6,913 feet—Hot springs—Mud geysers.
Mesa Verde 1906	Southwestern Colorado	80	Most notable and best preserved prehistoric cliff dwellings in United States, if not in the world.
Mount McKinley 1917	South central Alaska	2,645	Highest mountain in North America—Rises higher shove surrounding country than any other mountain in this world.
Mount Rainier 1899	West central Washington	325	Largest accessible single peak glacier system; 28 glaciers, some of large size; 48 square miles of glacier, 50 to 500 feet thick—Wonderful subalpine wild-flower fields.
Platt 1902	Southern Oklahoma	1	Sulphur and other springs possessing medicinal value.
Rocky Mountain 1911	North middle Colorado	401	Heart of the Rockies—Snowy range, peaks 11,000 to 14,215 feet altitude—Remarkable records of glacial period.
Sequoia 1890	Middle eastern California	604	The Big Tree National Park—Scores of sequoias 20 to 10 feet in diameter, thousands over 10 feet in diameter, General Sherman Tree, 37.1 feet in diameter and 273.5 feet high—Towering mountain ranges—Startling precipices—Mount Whitney and Kern River country.
Sullys Hill 1901	North Dakota	1	Small park with woods, streams, and a lake—Is a wild-animal preserve.
Wind Cave 1903	South Dakota	17	Cavern having several miles of galleries and numerous chambers containing peculiar formations.
Yellowstone 1872	Northwestern Wyoming, southwestern Montana, and north eastern Idaho	3,426	More geysers than in all rest of world together—Boiling springs—Mud volcanoes—Petrified forests—Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, remarkable for gorgeous coloring—Large lakes—Many large streams and waterfalls—Vast wilderness, one of the greatest wild bird and animal preserves in the world—Exceptional trout fishing.
Yosemite 1890	Middle eastern California	1,139	Valley of world-famed beauty—Lofty cliffs—Romantic vistas—Many waterfalls of extraordinary height—3 groves of Big Trees—High Sierra—Waterwheel Falls—Good trout fishing.
Zion 1919	Southwestern Utah	148	Magnificient gorge (Zion Canyon), depth from 1,500 to 2,100 feet, with precipitous walls—Of great beauty and scenic interest.

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Last Modified: Thurs, Oct 19 2000 10:00:00 pm PDT
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