James EddyRomero 4thMarch 26, 2014National Parks Research PaperNational parks are among the most valuable things in the world. The American people have destroyed millions and millions of acres of land through industrialization and overpopulation. The country's national parks are all that remains of natural lands and wildlife and are one of the most beautiful things in the world. These national parks were created to conserve the natural existence of a designated area and prevent damage to the environment within the park. Although the parks were created to keep people safe, visitors are allowed to visit and enjoy the natural beauty of the parks as long as they follow a few rules. There are hundreds of parks across the United States where people can come and visit these pretty big slices of paradise. Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States, located primarily in Wyoming but also extending into Montana and Idaho. It was created by Congress and signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. It is known for the very large amount of geysers, bears and wild buffalo. Yellowstone covers 2,219,789 acres, 80 percent of which is forest and home to a wide variety of wildlife. The park takes its name from the Yellowstone River, named after French trappers. The Continental Divide runs through the southwest portion of the park, separating the drainage basins of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Yellowstone sits on a plateau at an elevation of about 8,000 feet. The Rocky Mountains surround the plateau on almost all sides, which rises to 11,358 feet at the summit of Eagle Peak. The park also has one of the world's largest petrified forests, which are fossilized remains...... middle of paper ...... the bill to make the Grand Canyon a national park was created in 1882 and had it passed the The Grand Canyon would have been the second national park in the United States, nevertheless, Harrison created the Grand Canyon Forest Preserve and Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon Game Preserve. Woodrow Wilson eventually signed the Grand Canyon National Park Act into law in 1919. The Canyon is best known for its massive size and many layers of colorful rocks reaching down to the Colorado River below. This river is what carved the canyon for thousands of years and is accessible by hiking there. The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is where most visitors come to view and hike the canyon on foot or by mule. Visitors can also go down and camp by the river and even go whitewater rafting on the Colorado River. The north shore, however, is much smaller and isolated and is only accessible by road 67.