National parks in USA

As one of the largest and most frequented countries in the world, the United

States boast an amazing amount of tourist attractions ranging from the

skyscrapers of New York and Chicago, the natural wonders of Yellowstone and

Alaska to the sunny beaches of California, Florida and Hawaii. However, New

York, Chicago, San Francisco and Las Vegas seem to be the main travel

attractions as they represent the high spirit and the fast and happening lifestyle

of the Americans. But, the United States boasts a rich natural wealth that spread

across acres of land in every part of the country with diverse significance. It has

58 protected areas known as national parks, which are operated by the National

Park Service of the Government. And these National parks in USA are the

most demanding tourist attractions in the recent times.

The first national park, Yellowstone was also the world’s first national park, set

aside in 1872 to preserve the vast number of geysers, hot springs, and other

thermal areas, as well as to protect the incredible wildlife and rugged beauty of

the area. It lies on top of a huge hotspot where light, hot, molten mantle rock

rises towards the surface. Subsequently, the park contains half of all the world’s

known geothermal features, with more than 10,000 examples of geysers and hot

springs. In addition, black bears, grizzly bears, deer, elk, bison and wolves can

all be found within the park borders. National Parks were created by the

National Park Service "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic

objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in

such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the

enjoyment of future generations."

National parks usually have a variety of natural resources over large areas. Six

amazing national parks are found in Alaska. The newest national park is Great

Sand Dunes, established in 2004.Twenty-seven states are abundant with

national parks, as do the insular areas of American Samoa and the United States

Virgin Islands. Alaska and California have the most, each with eight, followed

by Utah with five and Colorado with four. The largest national park

is Wrangell–St. Elias, at over 8,000,000 acres (32,000 km2). The most-visited

national park is Great Smoky Mountains, with over nine million visitors in

2008. It is a part of the Appalachian Mountains, have a wide range of

elevations, making them home to over 400 vertebrate species, 100 tree species,

and 5000 plant species. Hiking is the park's main attraction for the adventurous

tourists who like to explore the terrains. Other activities are fishing, horseback

riding, and visiting some of nearly 80 historic structures. Another popular

national park is Grand Canyon, with over four million visitors. It is located in

northern Arizona and it has been carved over several million years by the

Colorado River. The canyon attains a depth of over 1.6 km (1 mile) and 446 km

(277 miles) long. The Grand Canyon is not the deepest or the longest canyon in

the world but huge size and its elaborate and colorful landscape offers visitor

spectacular visuals that can give a person a lifetime of surprise.

The Hawaii Volcanoes also fall under national parks. This park on the Big

Island protects the Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, two of the world's most

active volcanoes. Diverse ecosystems of the Park Range from those at sea level

to 13,000 feet. Kilauea is the most recent of a series of volcanoes that have

created the Hawaiian Archipelago. It is a very low, flat shield volcano, vastly

different in profile from the high, sharply sloping volcanic peaks. They are

amazing attractions for volcanologists as well as normal tourists. Thirty-three

eruptions have taken place since 1952, not including the current eruption which

started on January 3, 1983 and is still continuing.

The Redwood park in California and protect almost half of all remaining

Coastal Redwoods, the tallest trees on Earth. There are three large river systems

in this very seismically active area, and the 37 miles (60 km) of protected

coastline have tide pools and sea stacks. The prairie, estuary, coast, river, and

forest ecosystems have varied animal and plant species that form a large part of

natural resources.

The United States has a rich natural heritage that are a must visit for tourists

who love to explore the wilderness. Most of these National parks in USA are

well preserved in its pristine original form and they offer breathtaking visuals

and natural wonders that are hard to find in other parts of the world.