Us national parks

Parks of USA

• For the first time, George Catlin spoke about creating special land plots that were not involved in economic activities in the XIX century. As a self-taught artist, he traveled widely in North America and watched with indignation the harmful influence of the white man on the established traditions of the indigenous population and his unceremonious invasion of nature. Ketlin suggested the need to protect the environment and the importance of a targeted state policy aimed at creating conditions for preserving the natural beauty of the American continent.Despite the fact that the Federal government did not immediately respond to the idea of creating protected areas, in 1864, under the leadership of President Lincoln and the US Congress, the first steps were taken to create national parks.

Yellowstone nature reserve

The first real national Park not only in the United States, but also in the world was Yellowstone in 1872. The national Park is located on the territory of three States at once Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, covering an area of about 9 thousand square kilometers. The main attraction of the Park are geysers and hot springs. Under the influence of various mineral salts dissolved in water, over many millions of years, bizarre surface shapes were formed: pyramids, terraces and even stalactites.Salt deposits on the earth's surface sparkle in the sun, and various metals that are part of the salts color them bright red and yellow. The mountain slopes are covered with coniferous forests, where many rare animals feel great. Many clear and picturesque rivers, flowing down from mountain ranges, form numerous cascades of waterfalls. This place is considered a Paradise for cavers, and a large number of canyons attract extreme sports enthusiasts. Here, in the center of the dormant Caldera volcano, there is a high-altitude Yellowstone lake, the banks of which are solidified lava.

Great Smoky Mountains

The most visited Park, which annually receives more than 9 million tourists, is the great smoky mountains. The Park is located in Eastern Tennessee and North Carolina and covers an area of over 2 thousand sq. km there are more than 4 thousand species of plants characteristic of the flora of Eastern North America.Many of them are endemic and are found only in the great smoky mountains. The rich vegetation is a favorable habitat for many representatives of the fauna of this region. There are about 65 species of mammals alone. The largest number of national parks can boast the States of California and Alaska.

Sequoia Park

On the territory of California is the second most recently created Park, founded in 1890. In addition to many natural objects, a special place in Sequoia Park is occupied by the famous tall trees growing in the Giant forest. It is noteworthy that five of the ten tallest trees in the world grow in this forest. A huge interest of tourists is caused by a Sequoia called General Sherman reaching a height of more than 80 m, the circumference of the base of which is more than 30 m. No wonder the tree was "awarded" the General title. Because of the huge volume of wood, General Sherman is the largest tree on the planet.

Denali Park

Denali national Park, located in Alaska, occupies a huge territory, exceeding in size the area of the state of Massachusetts and even many States. The word "Denali" is translated from the Athabaskan language as "great". This is what the indigenous people once called the highest peak in North America located on this territory. The highest point of the continent, mount McKinley, the huge size of the Park and the endless expanses of tundra with its inhabitants-all this confirms the great importance of the Park in preserving the delicate balance of this natural area of North America. Numerous representatives of the local fauna, including caribou, elk, brown bears, mountain sheep and wolves, live here as many centuries ago freely and in complete safety.

Grand canyon

This huge gorge, located in the Northern part of the state of Arizona, is the largest natural attraction in the United States. A significant part of the Grand canyon is included in the Grand Canyon national Park, covering 4,950 square kilometers (length-433 km, width-from 180 m to 28.8 km). The depth of the unique canyon averages 1.6 km. The Grand Canyon Park area is divided by the Colorado river into 2 parts: South rim (most accessible to tourists) and North rim (more remote and less visited). On the high (over 2 km) walls of the gorge, consisting of different layers of rock, you can "read" the history of earth's transformations over millions of years of the planet's existence.

Zion Park

Nature creates here such pictures as you will not see anywhere else: reddish-orange massifs of mountains rise above the gorges, green patches of woodlands cover their slopes, in some places the whole earth is covered with a thick cover of yellow Heather. Among the unusual trees, there are familiar birches that look strange against the background of red spurs.

monument valley

Monument Valley national Park – an area that has long belonged to the Navajo Indians-is a real natural wonder created under the influence of wind erosion. For centuries, the winds of Arizona, like all-powerful sculptors, "carved" towers of bizarre shapes from the rocks. Painted in red-brown colors, they seem to be alien aliens who have descended to Earth. Martian landscapes of a unique valley are included in the list of 100 wonders of the world, despite the external lifelessness due to the scant presence of any vegetation in the vast expanses.

Arki national Park

On 309 square kilometers of the state of Utah, there is an amazing section of the earth's surface, formed at the bottom of the former sea with a sandy bottom, which was here millions of years ago. Wind and water worked hard on the thickness of sand and salt deposits after the disappeared sea, creating miracle arches (more than 2 thousand). in Addition, the forces of nature and the time factor, transforming sand into quartz, gold and other valuable minerals, arranged a real storehouse of minerals and stones here. No wonder in the 18th century, conflicts between Europeans and Indians developed for the possession of this territory.

Acadia

Acadia national Park is almost the entire territory of Mount Desert island, separated from the mainland by a narrow Strait of the Atlantic ocean. A free highway leading to Acadia runs through it via an embankment dam. To ensure the convenience and comfort of tourists, a large-scale three-dimensional map of the Park is placed next to the Parking lot, which allows you to plan your individual route to the attractions of the Park. The highest point of the reserve (height-466 m), to the top of which is paved road. The way to it is through the most picturesque surroundings with stunning views in the center of the island, a magnificent eagle lake, nestled in a lowland, squeezed by mountains. "Cadillac" is otherwise called Bald mountain for the fact that almost nothing grows on it, except for rare shrubs. But they want to get here because of the inexpressibly beautiful panorama of the Atlantic ocean and the Islands of the Maine coast, which opens from its top.

Death valley

The rather gloomy name of this National Park is fully justified by the lifelessness of the territory on which it is located. In fact, this is 13, 518 square kilometers of parched heat, cracked from the heat of the desert. Despite the barren soil, there are very picturesque landscapes, decorated with snow-capped mountain peaks, sand dunes of bizarre shapes, rocky canyons, a whole range of different colors and shades. These places are the lowest relative to ocean level and the driest in North America. They dubbed the valley of death an unfriendly place that brought many trials to the Europeans who mastered this space.

Joshua-Three

The area of the Park covers 2 deserts: Mojave and Colorado, separated from each other by the natural boundary of the changing landscape: if Joshua trees were replaced by Choya cacti, Yucca and octoiyo bushes, then this is the beginning of Colorado. The Northern zone of the Park is a cluster of huge giant boulders, rocky formations that literally go under the clouds, and deep crevices. To the South, boulders become lower, rocks are less common, and gradually the space becomes flat. In early spring, the desert Joshua trees are covered with huge fleshy inflorescences of yellowish shades, which produce strange fruits in a month. Not far from the main road is the highest point of the Park – Keys View (1581 m), from where even the high mountains seem small, and before your eyes stretches below the valley going to the southwest in all its glory. In its lowlands are the cities of palm desert and palm springs. Travel through the Park – new interesting discoveries and a lot of impressions.

Rocky Mountain

These places in the state of Colorado, embodying the history of the Wild West, are covered with Rocky mountains and are the most popular ski resort in America: the snow does not melt here until June. The name of the Park comes from the word "mountaineer" - the so-called Europeans, alone looking for gold and hunting fur-bearing animals. By their way of life, they turned into Indians who had long lived here. The beauty of the local landscape eclipses all seen before, they are especially good in autumn, when the background of silver-gray mountains flash purple, purple, lemon color of the crown of deciduous trees. There are many picturesque lakes in the Park.

The Olympic Park

The Park is situated on the Olympic Peninsula in the northwestern part of Washington state. It received National status in 1938 as a unique territory of extremely diverse species of flora and fauna, well preserved here. The natural uniqueness of the Park lies in the wide variety of landscape areas: glaciers, lakes, Alpine meadows, ocean coast and mountains-all types of terrain are represented here. Moreover, there are 3 Indian reservations located on the ocean coast. Almost the entire space of the Park can only be walked, there are few passing places. But the fabulous beauty of the local nature inspires tourists so that they are ready to go all along and across. The amazing multicolor of Alpine meadows, the stunning blue of lakes, the bright green of forests, the shining whiteness of snow-capped peaks conquer even the most indifferent beholders. In 1976, the Park was awarded the title of an International biosphere reserve and became a world heritage site. The pristine nature attracts tens of thousands of tourists who make multi-day trips to protected areas. Many people come here for 1 day, walking along the maple Avenue with century-old trees, admiring the Sol Duck waterfalls or huge trees (some with a girth of more than 2 m) of the Hoh rain forest.

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