Some places are so special that the whole country decided to protect them: giant canyons, geysers, volcanoes, caves and swamps. Many of them are national parks.
Key idea
A national park protects land, water, plants and animals for everyone, now and in the future. Yellowstone became the first national park in 1872. The National Park Service, created in 1916, runs the parks. There are more than 60 national parks.
Why it works
Why protect land this way? In the 1800s, people saw forests cut down, wild animals hunted out and beautiful places fenced off for private profit. The law that made Yellowstone a park in 1872 set it aside "as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." The idea that the best landscapes belong to everyone spread to many other countries.
Worked example: How long between?
Yellowstone became a park in 1872, and the National Park Service was created in 1916. How many years apart is that?
- Subtract the earlier year from the later year.
- 1916 − 1872 = 44.
Answer: 44 years. For those years, the parks had no single agency to run them.
Common mistake
Not every place with "park" in its name is a national park, and not every Park Service place is a national park either. The National Park System has more than 400 places, and most are other kinds: national monuments (like the Statue of Liberty), memorials (like the Lincoln Memorial and Mount Rushmore), historic sites, seashores and trails. Only about 60 or so are national parks.