The NPS was established in 1916 by the Organic Act, but the first national park world-wide was Yellowstone, in 1872
Delaware is the only state without a National Park (I would have thought New Jersey, personally...)
The NPS owns 83 million acres of parkland
The largest NPS property is Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska (13.2 million acres). This is an area larger than New Hampshire and Vermont, combined
The smallest national park site is the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in PA, at only 0.02 acre.
The highest density of black bears in the U.S. is in Shenandoah National Park.
The largest volcano on earth is Mauna Loa Volcano, located in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. My company is doing an Ungulate Management Plan within that park, because wild sheep, etc, are a problem.
There are a total of 375 parks, seashores, preserves, memorials, and historic sites within the NPS system.
Russell Cave National Monument in Alabama has an almost continuous record of human habitation going back to 7000 B.C.
The National Park Service still holds an active trading post, Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, AZ (established in 1878).
The Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site is in PA, even though he is more commonly associated with Baltimore.
Teddy Roosevelt has the most NPS sites named for him (five, including his head on Mount Rushmore).
NPS lands include two federal prisons (Alcatraz and Molokai Island Hansen's Disease Settlement)
In 2008, the Great Smoky Mountains was the most visited national park. Fifty percent of the entire U.S. population lives within a days' driving distance of the park. Grand Canyon was second, Yosemite was third.
Gerald Ford was the only president that previously worked for the NPS. In 1936, he served as a seasonal park ranger in Yellowstone.
And now you know!
Your facts are almost as fun as mine. :)
ReplyDelete