| Traveler Edge |
| Things You Might Not Know About National Park | |||||||||
| Visits : | |||||||||
| • Classification of National Park System: | |||||||||
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National Park, National Monument, National Memorial, National Seashore, National Lakeshore, National Recreation Area, National River, National Preserve, National Historic Site, National Historic Park, National Battlefield, National Parkway, National Trail, Other (such as Prince William Forest Park ). | |||||||||
| • First National Park: | |||||||||
| There are two different versions of the answer. Hot Springs National Park , established by the Congress on April 20, 1832, is supposed to be the first site bear the name "National Park." The Yellowstone National Park, established on March 1, 1872, should be the second National Park. However the National Park Service (NPS), established on 1916, did not make Hot Springs a National Park under its system until 1921. NPS claims that Yellowstone is the first national park based on this logic. | |||||||||
| • First National Wildlife Refuge: | |||||||||
| Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, established on 1903. | |||||||||
| • First National Monument: | |||||||||
| Devils Tower National Monument , established on September 24, 1906. | |||||||||
| • First National Seashore: | |||||||||
| Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, established on 1953. | |||||||||
| • First National Lakeshore: | |||||||||
| Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan, established on October 15, 1966. | |||||||||
| • Largest National Park in Acreage: | |||||||||
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Wrangell-St Elias National Park in Alaska,
total 8,323,147 acres, out of which 7,662,725 are NPS fee acres.
Source: NPS, 12/31/2007 | |||||||||
| • Largest Five National Parks in the Lower 48 States: | |||||||||
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1. Death Valley National Park
total 3,373,042 acres, out of which 3,323,692 are NPS fee acres. 2. Yellowstone National Park total 2,219,791 acres, out of which 2,219,789 are NPS fee acres. 3. Everglades National Park total 1,398,893 acres, out of which 1,398,607 are NPS fee acres. 4. Grand Canyon National Park total 1,217,403 acres, out of which 1,180,863 are NPS fee acres. 5. Glacier National Park total 1,013,322 acres, out of which 1,012,834 are NPS fee acres. Source: NPS, 12/31/2007 | |||||||||
| • Smallest Five National Parks in the Lower 48 States: | |||||||||
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1. Hot Springs National Park
total 5,549 acres, out of which 4,936 are NPS fee acres. 2. Congaree Swamp National Park total 26,545 acres, out of which 24,180 are NPS fee acres. 3. Wind Cave National Park total 28,295 acres, out of which 28,292 are NPS fee acres. 4. Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park total 30,750 acres, out of which 26,775 are NPS fee acres. 5. Cuyahoga Valley National Park total 32,864 acres, out of which 18,420 are NPS fee acres. Source: NPS, 12/31/2007 | |||||||||
| • Largest Three National Monuments in the Lower 48 States: | |||||||||
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1. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
total 330.689 acres, out of which 329,115 are NPS fee acres. 2. Dinosaur National Monument total 210,278 acres, out of which 203,031 are NPS fee acres. 3. White Sands National Monument total 143,733 acres, out of which 141,209 are NPS fee acres. Source: NPS, 12/31/2007 | |||||||||
| • Most visited Five National Parks: | |||||||||
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1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
9,192,477 annual visitation. 2. Grand Canyon National Park 4,401,522 annual visitation. 3. Yosemite National Park 3,304,144 annual visitation. 4. Olympic National Park 3,142,774 annual visitation. 5. Yellowstone National Park 2,835,651 annual visitation. Source: NPS, 2005 | |||||||||
| • Least visited Five National Parks: | |||||||||
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1. Isle Royale National Park
17,398 annual visitation. 2. Dry Tortugas National Park 61,765 annual visitation. 3. Great Basin National Park 77,741 annual visitation. 4. Congaree Swamp National Park 84,301 annual visitation. 5. Guadalupe Mountains National Park 170,383 annual visitation. Source: NPS, 2005 | |||||||||
| • Five National Parks with Highest Density of Annual Visitation per Acre: | |||||||||
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1. Hot Springs National Park
241.51 annual visitation per acre. 2. Cuyahoga Valley National Park 77.10 annual visitation per acre. 3. Acadia National Park 43.29 annual visitation per acre. 4. Mammoth Cave National Park 35.55 annual visitation per acre. 5. Bryce Canyon National Park 28.40 annual visitation per acre. Other High Density NPS Sites: *. Fort McHenry National Monument 14433.40 annual visitation per acre. *. Mount Rushmore National Memorial 1594.57 annual visitation per acre. *. Devils Tower National Monument 274.37 annual visitation per acre. Source: NPS, 2005/2007 | |||||||||
| • Five National Parks with Lowest Density of Annual Visitation per Acre: | |||||||||
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1. Isle Royale National Park
0.03 annual visitation per acre. 2. Death Valley National Park 0.24 annual visitation per acre. 3. Big Bend National Park 0.50 annual visitation per acre. 4. Everglades National Park 0.88 annual visitation per acre. 5. Dry Tortugas National Park 0.95 annual visitation per acre. Source: NPS, 2005/2007 | |||||||||
| • The Only State That Has No National Park under NPS: | |||||||||
| Delaware | |||||||||
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| Discussion Area - Things You Might Not Know About National Park | |||||||||