Running head: NATIONAL PARKS

Americas Top Five National Parks

Megan Elizabeth Sanner

Dr. Hall

SRM 480

April 27, 2017

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Abstract

America was born on a part of the earth that contains magnificent beauty. As Americans

we have put together a list of National Parks that are our favorite according to scenic

beauty and historical importance. Thanks to President Woodrow Wilson whom signed the

act that created Americas National Park System, this gave Americans a responsibility to

protect and preserve the precious lands for future generations to appreciate. All National

Parks come with their own unique history, but these listed ahead are the top five in

America because of their special unique qualities in history and in natural exquisiteness.
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Americas National Parks are some of the most beautiful and inspiring places in

the world. Our America contains some of the most amazing and breath taking sites one

can lay their eyes on. As America is our home we have a responsibility, a duty to protect

and preserve her natural beauties. Without knowledge and understanding of this concept

we will not get to show our childrens children the beauty that lies in our country. So

many people visit our national parks every year that without preservation and respect our

parks would wither away.

President Woodrow Wilson signed the act condoning the protection of

certain parks, monuments, and reservations all through the country which was put under

the control of Secretary of the Interior on August 16, 1916. The Organic Act was new in

the Department of the Interior which held the federal bureau accountable for protecting

the thirty-five national parks and monuments existing and those that were going to be

established in the years to come. This new act was securing that the historic and naturally

scenic sites would be available for the generations following. What really helped develop

the national park system was the Executive Order. In 1933 this order shifted fifty-six

national monuments and military sites from the Forest Service and War Department to the

National Park Service.

Congress was very satisfied when they saw the growing attendance of people

visiting these historic and scenic sites. They were so pleased they declared in the General

Authorities Act of 1970 that the National Park System has since grown to include

superlative natural, historic, and recreation areas in every regionand that it is the

purpose of this Act to include all such areas in the System (History US National Park

System). Today congress still is the key to adding more National Parks, but the President
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has the highest authority, under the Antiquities Act of 1906, to proclaim national

monuments and lands. Usually the Secretary of the Interior is asked by Congress for their

opinions on the proposed sites to add to the System. Then the secretary is counseled by

the National Park System advisory board. The board is made up of private citizens who

make decisions together on what additions of sites and policies are suitable for its

management.

Given this history about our National Park System there are five specific parks

that will be covered. Each park is unique which means they each come with a history and

different qualities. Some parks are newer to the System than others, but this will give the

reader a wide range of historical facts. Today there are more than one hundred nations

that contain twelve hundred national parks or preserves. Out of all the choices in the

United States five have been selected and named the Top Five National Parks in America.

Glacier National Park is number five on the list. Glacier Park is one of natures

most amazing creations. This park has over seven hundred miles of trails to hike which is

any hikers utopia. The pristine forests, alpine meadows, and magnificent lakes are just a

few of the many attributes that attract tourists. Glacier National Park encompasses two

mountain ranges providing spectacular views of one of the worlds most active avalanche

areas.

Early researchers have found traces that Glacier Park had been touched by

humans over ten thousand years ago. The first European explorers came to this region

and found that several different tribes had already made this site their home. The

Blackfeet Indians, Salish, and Kootenai Indians lived in the western and eastern valleys.

They used this land to hunt the large herds of buffalo. Majority of the European
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explorers came in search of beaver pelts. Soon enough miners and settlers began to move

into southeast Montana and began establishing small towns within the mountains. By

1891 the Great Northern Railway sealed the areas fate.

As the century turned people began to recognize southeast Montana as not just

a place to collect minerals or farm land. The people started realizing that the place they

called home might be one of the most beautiful places in the country. Significant leaders

such as George Bird Grinnell pressed for the launch of the addition of Glacier to join the

National Park System. Eventually, Grinnell and other citizens were rewarded their wish

when President Taft signed the bill establishing Glacier Park as Americas tenth national

park.

Lake McDonald is a breath taking part of Glacier Park that offers a unique twist to

its visitors. Other than the fact that Lake McDonald is the largest, longest, and deepest

lake at the park it also has multicolored pebbles and rocks covering its lake bottom. The

rocks consist of color that range from light red to maroon, green, blue, and even purple.

The presence of the color in the rocks is due to the amount of iron collected within the

rock. The bright red rocks found along the Grinnel Glacier trail were deposited in a

shallow ocean environment where the iron was oxidized by the tidal exposure to the air,

rocks with this coloration often have old ripple marks or ancient mud crack lines

(National Park System: Glacier Park History and Culture).

Not only are these colored rocks located at Lake McDonald they are scattered

throughout different parts of Glacier Park and were formed during different eras than the

ones locate at Lake McDonald. When the glaciers came they broke down the rocks into
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small fragments and rivers washed them throughout the park, but many of the rocks were

deposited into the lakes. The pebbles are what give this very old park its unique finish.

The fourth national park on the list is Mount Rainier National Park located in

Washington State. Researchers have found that Mount Rainier had been touched by

humans since nine thousand years ago, dating back to the prehistoric people. Known for

its temperate rainforest features, its beautiful meadows that attract many visitors during

spring, to the glacial settings that draw mountaineers from all over the world, Mount

Rainier has a wide range of scenery to experience.

After the creation of the National Forest System Mount Rainier was the first to be

established. Yellowstone was thought to be an isolated, event according to congress.

Congress had felt that it was not the federal governments job to create parks all

throughout the nation. Citizens located within these future parks disagreed and fought for

their land, more specifically Mount Rainer land, to become nationally protected and

preserved. The citizens precious land was granted establishment into the National Park

System on March 2, 1899. President McKinley signed legislation making Mount Rainier

the fifth national park established in America.

Mount Rainier brings in tourists each year because it dominates the skyline for

miles around and is positioned as the center piece of this beautiful alpine woodland park

(Top 5 National Parks in USA Peregrine Wanderer). This national park offers an array of

nature thrilling excitement. Whether one wants to go for a hike in the snow or in forests

containing thousand year old trees there is a place for everyone at Mount Rainier. There

are many trails to choose from, but at any trial one may find oneself coming eye to eye

with a cascade fox or a black bear.

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As a tourist is walking throughout these wondrous trails he or she might hear the

cracking of the glaciers debris howling throughout the valleys. In Cascade Range there is

the tallest Glacier Peak. The fourteen thousand four hundred and ten foot peak weaves in

and out of view through the clouds, luring courageous mountain climbers to come test

their limits and see if they can conquer its height. These are just a few great reasons why

Mount Rainier made it to number four on our list. Our next National Park is much like

Mount Rainier as it never ceases to amaze its tourists and will never give their pictures

justice as its beauty is too real for even the best of cameras to capture.

Yosemite National Park located in Sierra Nevada mountain range in California

was established into the National Park System in 1890 as Americas third National park.

Native Americans were the true settlers of this land until the gold rush in 1849, which

brought thousands of non-Indian miners and settlers to the region. Thus commenced

much damage to the land, which forced people to ward off the commercial exploitation.

Conservationists convinced President Lincoln to proclaim Yosemites Valley as a public

trust of California. This gave Yosemite the protection it needed against the thousands of

tourist coming in. Yosemite has so much to offer through its nature as this national park

holds some of the greatest landscapes in all of America.

Yosemite is home to sequoia trees, the worlds biggest tree, over three hundred

lakes, and some of the worlds tallest waterfalls! Tourists come to enjoy the two thousand

and twenty-five foot waterfall called Yosemite Falls, which is one of the worlds tallest

falls. They also come to experience the amazing rock formations such as the Half Dome,

which is a seventeen mile hike and takes about twelve hours to complete, and El Capitan

which is the largest granite monolith in the United States. Yosemite offers three groves of
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giant sequoia trees that tower over whomever steps up to it. Yosemite brings in about four

million tourists each year. The weather is beautiful year round so it makes for a great

vacationing spot. The falls and rock formations make for a great reason for Yosemite to

be number three in the top five national parks list for America.

Number two on the list of Americas Top National Parks is Acadia National Park

located in Maine. This park has a special uniqueness to it because its original name was

Lafayette National Park. Not until nearly a decade later was the name changed to Acadia.

Acadia is the oldest American National Park on the east coast and was the first to be

donated to the federal government by private citizens. The overcrowding of people made

its locals worried that the raw materials of this land would be destroyed, so by donating

the land to the government it became protected and preserved. This land is made up of

rocky coasts and vibrant colors.

Acadia is composed of twenty-six mountains and many different islands. Seven of

these mountains are more than one thousand feet high. The park contains forty seven

thousand seven hundred and forty-eight acres, Mount Desert Island being the largest

island. Some islands that are a part of this national park can only be reached by boat such

as Baker Island and Bar Island. These islands are unique in which the crashing waves run

into the rocky coastlines that meet granite mountains, but near all that it holds moss and

evergreens and a mixture of wildlife. This strange amount of diversity brings in about two

million tourists each year.

The place to visit while at Acadia National Park would be Cadillac Mountain.

This spot is perfectly positioned for the best view of a sunrise one has ever seen. This

place has a lot in store for a tourist not only because of its spectacular views but the
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history it has to it. Dating farther back than the 1800s Mount Desert Island contains

granite bridges build by settlers, carriage roads built by John D. Rockfeller, and even a

fjord that basically divides Mount Desert Island in half. The fjord is actually the only one

found on the Atlantic Coast of America which brings in many curious tourists. This

diverse land is home to many wildlife such as mountain lions, red squirrels, black bears,

and white-tailed deer. This land holds much to its name and is probably why it has its

place as number two on the list of Americas Top National Parks.

One can only guess the number one national park in America. It is the oldest

national park in the National Park System, which was established in 1872. It has been

protected the longest and is home to half of the worlds geysers. This park is homegrown

with a wide range of wildlife and even contains some of the worlds endangered species.

Yellowstone National Park is number one on the list of Americas Top National Parks for

many good reasons.

Researches date human touch on Yellowstone back to about eleven thousand years

ago. It all began with the Native Americans and they were followed by the European

Americans. To this day researches study the land continuously finding artifacts of the past

or discovering new materials and fossils. The lands cover about three thousand and five

hundred acres of wilderness which is located on top of a volcanic hot spot. Three states

share this park Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. Montana being the prime land host. The

landscape is every adventures paradise in which there is never a place at Yellowstone that

doesnt put one in complete awe.

The featurings of Yellowstone are the intense canyons, lavish forests, hot springs,

rushing rivers, spouting geysers and its assorted wildlife. As tourists walk through out the
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park they are always on their toes as at any point a herd of buffalo may cross the road or

off in the distance there could be a few buck elk relaxing in the meadow. If one is lucky

they may come across a recently reintroduce wolf or a shy bear. Walking near geysers is

always suspenseful because some geysers are unpredictable and may give a fright to a

tourist not paying attention. This site contains so many historical and beautiful scenic

sites like Old Faithful and the Prismatic Springs that it deserves to be number one on the

list of Americas Top National Parks.

To sum all of this information up, Americas Top National Park list holds some of

the oldest national parks. This list contains parks that deserve to have attention by all

Americans so the parks may continue to be protected and preserved. Starting with

Yellowstone and ending with Glacier National Park this list covers the uniqueness and

rawness of each historical and scenic site. These five parks have given Americans and

everyone around the world the chance to experience nature in its complete fullness and it

is up to us to allow these lands to be seen by generations to follow.

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References

Acadia National Park History. (2001-2017). Retrieved from

www.acadiamagic.com/acaida_national_park.html

History (U.S. National Park Service). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/

aboutus/history.htm

National Park System. Glacier National Park History and Culture. Retrieved from

http://www.nps.gov/glac/learn/historyculture/index.htm

Park History: Mount Rainier National Park. (2015-2017). Retrieved from

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2008/03/park-history-mount-rainier-

national-park

Park History: Yellowstone. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/

yell//learn/historyculture/park-history.htm

Theodore Roosevelt Quotes. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/

historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-quotes.htm

This Day in History: Yosemite National Park Established. (2017). Retrieved from

www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yosemite-national-park-established

Top 5 national parks in the USA Peregrine Adventures. (2012). Retrieved from

https://www.peregrineadventures.com/blog/30/01/2012/5-top-national-parks-usa/