GLACIER
Origin of the Scenic Features of the Glacier National Park
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THE NATIONAL PARKS AT A GLANCE.
[Number, 19; total area, 10,859 square miles.]

National parks in order of creation. Location. Area in
square
miles.
Distinctive characteristics.
Hot Springs
1832
Middle Arkansas 1-1/2

46 hot springs possessing curative properties—Many hotels and hoarding houses—20 bathhouses under public control.

Yellowstone
1872
Northwestern Wyoming. 3,348

More geysers than in all rest of world together—Boiling springs—Mud volcanoes—Petrified forests—Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, remarkable for gorgeous coloring—Large lakes—Many large streams and waterfalls—Vast wilderness, greatest wild bird and animal preserve in world—Exceptional trout fishing.

Sequoia
1899
Middle eastern California. 252

The Big Tree National Park—12,000 sequoia trees over 10 feet in diameter, some 25 to 36 feet in diameter—Towering mountain ranges—Startling precipices—Cave of considerable size.

Yosemite
1890
Middle eastern California. 1,125

Valley of world-famed beauty—Lofty cliffs—Romantic vistas—Many waterfalls of extraordinary height—3 groves of big trees—High Sierra—Waterwheel falls—Good trout fishing.

General Grant
1890
Middle eastern California. 4

Created to preserve the celebrated General Grant Tree, 35 feet in diameter—6 miles from Sequoia National Park.

Mount Rainier
1890
West central Washington. 324

Largest accessible single peak glacier system—28 glaciers, some of large size—48 square miles of glacier, 50 to 100 feet thick—Wonderful subalpine wild flower fields.

Crater Lake
1902
Southwestern Oregon. 249

Lake of extraordinary blue in crater of extinct volcano—Sides 1,000 feet high—Interesting lava formations—Fine fishing.

Wind Cave
1903
South Dakota 17

Cavern having many miles of galleries and numerous chambers containing peculiar formations.

Platt
1904
Southern Oklahoma. 1-1/3

Many sulphur and other springs possessing medicinal value.

Sullys Hill
1904
North Dakota 1-1/5

Small park with woods, streams, and a lake—Is an important wild animal preserve.

Mesa Verde
1906
Southwestern Colorado. 77

Most notable and best preserved prehistoric cliff dwellings in United States, if not in the world.

Glacier
1910
Northwestern Montana. 1,534

Rugged mountain region of unsurpassed Alpine character—250 glacier-fed lakes of romantic beauty—60 small glaciers—Precipices thousands of feet deep—Almost sensational scenery of marked individuality—Fine trout fishing.

Rocky Mountain
1915
North middle Colorado. 398

Heart of the Rockies—Snowy range, peaks 11,000 to 14,250 feet altitude—Remarkable records of glacial period.

Hawaii
1916
Hawaii. 118

Three separate areas—Kilauea and Manna Loa on Hawaii; Haleakala on Maui.

Lassen Volcanic
1916
Northern California. 124

Only active volcano in United States proper—Lassen Peak, 10,465 feet—Cinder Cone 6,879 feet—Hot Springs—Mud geysers.

Mount McKinley
1917
South central Alaska. 2,200

Highest mountain in North America—Rises higher above surrounding country than any other mountain in the world.

Grand Canyon
1919
North central Arizona. 958

The greatest example of erosion and the most sublime spectacle in the world.

Lafayette
1919
Maine coast. 8

The group of granite mountains upon Mount Desert Island.

Zion
1919
Southwestern Utah. 120

Magnificent gorge (Zion Canyon), depth from 809 to 2,000 feet, with precipitous walls—Of great beauty and scenic interest.



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Last Updated: 09-Nov-2009