In 1872 U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill that made Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming the world's first national park. The park's purpose was to be a “pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.” Since that time, the United States has created many more national parks. They draw millions of visitors each year. Many other countries have popular national parks as well.
A national park is an area set aside by a national government. In the United States, the parks are created by acts of Congress. Sometimes the government already owns the land. In other cases the government tries to purchase lands it wishes to make into a park. The National Park Service was created in 1916 to oversee the park areas. It builds roads, trails, campgrounds, and picnic areas.
Many national parks are created to preserve the natural environment. Most of the landscapes, plants, and animals in a national park are kept in their natural state. Visitors may be given guidelines to keep the natural environment from being hurt by human activity.
The United States has many parks with breathtaking scenery. They include Acadia National Park in Maine, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, and Yosemite National Park in California.
By the early 20th century many Americans felt that the government should set aside not only scenic areas but also places of historic interest. Today the National Park Service oversees a variety of national military parks and battlefields that mark important sites of the American Revolution and the American Civil War. The organization also watches over various landmarks, including the memorials of Washington, D.C.
The national parks of other countries often serve the same purposes as those in the United States. Many are built around natural wonders. For example, Japan's Fuji-Hakone-Izu includes Mount Fuji, the famous volcanic cone. Venezuela's Canaima National Park includes Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall.
Canada set up its first national park in 1885. The park preserved the hot mineral springs at Banff, Alberta, on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Like the United States, Canada has many national historic parks. They mark places such as military forts and fur-trading posts.
Animals in places such as Africa and India are often in danger of being captured for profit. Thus, many national parks in these places are devoted to protecting animals. Some areas are true nature reserves and are not open to visitors. Others allow people to view animals from safe distances, such as from a watchtower at the Addo Elephant National Park in Africa.
The first World Conference on National Parks was held in Seattle, Washington, in 1962. It brought together people from some 70 nations. Many international groups have been important in the development of the world's national parks. These organizations include the United Nations and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
