The U.S. has 62 protected or preserved areas known as national parks that are regulated by the National Park Service, an bureau of the Department of the Interior. National parks must be settled by an act of the U.S. Congress. A bill establishing the 1st national park, Yellowstone, was signed into law by President Hiram Ulysses Grant in 1872, followed by Mackinac National Park in 1875 (demilitarize in 1895), and then Rock Creek Park (later incorporated into National Capital Parks), Sequoia & Yosemite in 1890. The Organic Act of 1916 established the National Park Service to preserve the scenery and the natural and historic things and wildlife in there, and to prepare for the amusement of the same in such style and by such means as will allow them intact for the amusement of coming generations.
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National Park | Location | Date established as park | Area in acres (2019) | Area in km2 (2019) | Recreation Visitors (2019) | Status by UNESCO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Acadia | Maine | February 26, 1919 | 49,076.63 | 198.6 | 3,437,286 | |
American Samoa | American Samoa | October 31, 1988 | 8,256.67 | 33.4 | 60,006 | |
Arches | Utah | November 12, 1971 | 76,678.98 | 310.3 | 1,659,702 | |
Badlands | South Dakota | November 10, 1978 | 242,755.94 | 982.4 | 970,998 | |
Big Bend | Texas | June 12, 1944 | 801,163.21 | 3,242.20 | 463,832 | Biosphere Reserve |
Biscayne | Florida | June 28, 1980 | 172,971.11 | 700 | 708,522 | |
Black Canyon of the Gunnison | Colorado | October 21, 1999 | 30,779.83 | 124.6 | 432,818 | |
Bryce Canyon | Utah | February 25, 1928 | 35,835.08 | 145 | 2,594,904 | |
Canyonlands | Utah | September 12, 1964 | 337,597.83 | 1,366.20 | 733,996 | |
Capitol Reef | Utah | December 18, 1971 | 241,904.50 | 979 | 1,226,519 | |
Carlsbad Caverns | New Mexico | May 14, 1930 | 46,766.45 | 189.3 | 440,691 | World Heritage Site |
Channel Islands | California | March 5, 1980 | 249,561.00 | 1,009.90 | 409,630 | Biosphere Reserve |
Congaree | South Carolina | November 10, 2003 | 26,476.47 | 107.1 | 159,445 | Biosphere Reserve |
Crater Lake | Oregon | May 22, 1902 | 183,224.05 | 741.5 | 704,512 | |
Cuyahoga Valley | Ohio | October 11, 2000 | 32,571.88 | 131.8 | 2,237,997 | |
Death Valley | California, Nevada | October 31, 1994 | 3,408,406.73 | 13,793.30 | 1,740,945 | Biosphere Reserve |
Denali | Alaska | February 26, 1917 | 4,740,911.16 | 19,185.80 | 601,152 | Biosphere Reserve |
Dry Tortugas | Florida | October 26, 1992 | 64,701.22 | 261.8 | 79,200 | Biosphere Reserve |
Everglades | Florida | May 30, 1934 | 1,508,938.57 | 6,106.50 | 1,118,300 | World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve |
Gates of the Arctic | Alaska | December 2, 1980 | 7,523,897.45 | 30,448.10 | 10,518 | |
Gateway Arch | Missouri | February 22, 2018 | 192.83 | 0.8 | 2,055,309 | |
Glacier | Montana | May 11, 1910 | 1,013,125.99 | 4,100.00 | 3,049,839 | World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve |
Glacier Bay | Alaska | December 2, 1980 | 3,223,383.43 | 13,044.60 | 672,087 | World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve |
Grand Canyon | Arizona | February 26, 1919 | 1,201,647.03 | 4,862.90 | 5,974,411 | World Heritage Site |
Grand Teton | Wyoming | February 26, 1929 | 310,044.36 | 1,254.70 | 3,405,614 | Biosphere Reserve |
Great Basin | Nevada | October 27, 1986 | 77,180.00 | 312.3 | 131,802 | |
Great Sand Dunes | Colorado | September 13, 2004 | 107,341.87 | 434.4 | 527,546 | |
Great Smoky Mountains | North Carolina, Tennessee | June 15, 1934 | 522,426.88 | 2,114.20 | 12,547,743 | World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve |
Guadalupe Mountains | Texas | October 15, 1966 | 86,367.10 | 349.5 | 188,833 | |
Haleakalā | Hawaii | July 1, 1961 | 33,264.62 | 134.6 | 994,394 | Biosphere Reserve |
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes | Hawaii | August 1, 1916 | 325,605.28 | 1,317.70 | 1,368,376 | World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve |
Hot Springs | Arkansas | March 4, 1921 | 5,554.15 | 22.5 | 1,467,153 | |
Indiana Dunes | Indiana | February 15, 2019 | 15,349.08 | 62.1 | 2,134,285 | |
Isle Royale | Michigan | April 3, 1940 | 571,790.30 | 2,314.00 | 26,410 | Biosphere Reserve |
Joshua Tree | California | October 31, 1994 | 795,155.85 | 3,217.90 | 2,988,547 | Biosphere Reserve |
Katmai | Alaska | December 2, 1980 | 3,674,529.33 | 14,870.30 | 84,167 | |
Kenai Fjords | Alaska | December 2, 1980 | 669,650.05 | 2,710.00 | 356,601 | |
Kings Canyon | California | March 4, 1940 | 461,901.20 | 1,869.20 | 632,110 | Biosphere Reserve |
Kobuk Valley | Alaska | December 2, 1980 | 1,750,716.16 | 7,084.90 | 15,766 | |
Lake Clark | Alaska | December 2, 1980 | 2,619,816.49 | 10,602.00 | 17,157 | |
Lassen Volcanic | California | August 9, 1916 | 106,589.02 | 431.4 | 517,039 | |
Mammoth Cave | Kentucky | July 1, 1941 | 54,011.91 | 218.6 | 551,590 | World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve |
Mesa Verde | Colorado | June 29, 1906 | 52,485.17 | 212.4 | 556,203 | World Heritage Site |
Mount Rainier | Washington | March 2, 1899 | 236,381.64 | 956.6 | 1,501,621 | |
North Cascades | Washington | October 2, 1968 | 504,780.94 | 2,042.80 | 38,208 | |
Olympic | Washington | June 29, 1938 | 922,649.41 | 3,733.80 | 3,245,806 | World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve |
Petrified Forest | Arizona | December 9, 1962 | 221,390.21 | 895.9 | 643,588 | |
Pinnacles | California | January 10, 2013 | 26,685.73 | 108 | 177,224 | |
Redwood | California | October 2, 1968 | 138,999.37 | 562.5 | 504,722 | World Heritage Site |
Rocky Mountain | Colorado | January 26, 1915 | 265,807.25 | 1,075.70 | 4,670,053 | Biosphere Reserve |
Saguaro | Arizona | October 14, 1994 | 91,715.72 | 371.2 | 1,020,226 | |
Sequoia | California | September 25, 1890 | 404,062.63 | 1,635.20 | 1,246,053 | Biosphere Reserve |
Shenandoah | Virginia | December 26, 1935 | 199,223.77 | 806.2 | 1,425,507 | |
Theodore Roosevelt | North Dakota | November 10, 1978 | 70,446.89 | 285.1 | 691,658 | |
Virgin Islands | U.S. Virgin Islands | August 2, 1956 | 15,052.53 | 60.9 | 133,398 | |
Voyageurs | Minnesota | April 8, 1975 | 218,222.35 | 883.1 | 232,974 | |
White Sands | New Mexico | December 20, 2019 | 146,344.31 | 592.2 | 608,785 | |
Wind Cave | South Dakota | January 9, 1903 | 33,970.84 | 137.5 | 615,350 | |
Wrangell-St. Elias | Alaska | December 2, 1980 | 8,323,146.48 | 33,682.60 | 74,518 | World Heritage Site |
Yellowstone | Wyoming, Montana, Idaho | March 1, 1872 | 2,219,790.71 | 8,983.20 | 4,020,288 | World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve |
Yosemite | California | October 1, 1890 | 761,747.50 | 3,082.70 | 4,422,861 | World Heritage Site |
Zion | Utah | November 19, 1919 | 147,242.66 | 595.9 | 4,488,268 |