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National park



 
 
A national park is a reserve of land, usually declared and owned by a national government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
, protected from most human
Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
 development and pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
. National parks are protected areas of IUCN category II. The largest national park in the world is the Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park

File:Northeast-greenland-national-park.svgNortheast Greenland National Park is the largest national park in the world, with an area of 972,000 square kilometres , making the park larger than List of countries and outlying territories by total area....
, which was established in 1974. According to The World Conservation Union IUCN, there are now 6,555 national parks worldwide (2006 figure).

810, the English poet William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was a major England Romantic poetry poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
 described the Lake District
Lake District

The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a rural area in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes and its mountains , and its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth and the Lake Poets....
 as a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy".






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A national park is a reserve of land, usually declared and owned by a national government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
, protected from most human
Human

A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
 development and pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
. National parks are protected areas of IUCN category II. The largest national park in the world is the Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park

File:Northeast-greenland-national-park.svgNortheast Greenland National Park is the largest national park in the world, with an area of 972,000 square kilometres , making the park larger than List of countries and outlying territories by total area....
, which was established in 1974. According to The World Conservation Union IUCN, there are now 6,555 national parks worldwide (2006 figure).

History

In 1810, the English poet William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was a major England Romantic poetry poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
 described the Lake District
Lake District

The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a rural area in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes and its mountains , and its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth and the Lake Poets....
 as a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy". The painter George Catlin
George Catlin

George Catlin was an United States Painting, author and traveler who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the United States in the Old West....
, in his travels through the American West, wrote in 1832 that the Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 might be preserved "by some great protecting policy of government . . . in a magnificent park . . . A nation's park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!" Similar ideas were expressed in other countries—in Sweden, for instance, the Finnish-born Baron Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld
Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld

Baron Adolf Erik Nordenski?ld , also known as A. E. Nordenskioeld was a Finland geologist, mineralogist and arctic explorer and a member of the prominent Finland-Swedish Nordenski?ld noble family of scientists....
 made such a proposition in 1880. The Scottish-American naturalist John Muir
John Muir

John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of U.S. wilderness. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada of California, have been read by millions and are still popular today....
 was inspirational in the foundation of national parks, anticipating many ideas of conservationism, environmentalism, and the animal rights movement.

The first effort by any government to set aside such protected lands was in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, on April 20, 1832, when President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States . He was List of governors of Florida of Florida , commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans , and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy....
 signed legislation to set aside four sections of land around what is now Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas

Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County....
 to protect the natural, thermal springs and adjoining mountainsides for the future disposal of the US government. It was known as the Hot Springs Reservation. However no legal authority was established and federal control of the area was not clearly established until 1877.

The next effort by any government to set aside such protected lands was, again, in the United States, when President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
 signed an Act of Congress
United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
 on June 30, 1864, ceding the Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley

Yosemite Valley is a world-famous scenic location in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. It is the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park, attracting visitors from all parts of the globe....
 and the Mariposa Grove
Mariposa Grove

Mariposa Grove is a list of sequoia groves located near Wawona, California, USA, in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park, at . It is the largest grove of Giant Sequoias in the park, with several hundred mature examples of the tree....
 of Giant Sequoias (later becoming the Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is a National Park Service located in the eastern portions of Tuolumne County, California, Mariposa County, California and Madera County, California counties in east central California, United States....
) to the state of California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
:

In 1872, Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress as a national park on March 1, 1872, is located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, though it also extends into Montana and Idaho....
 was established as arguably the world's first truly national park. When news of the natural wonders of the Yellowstone were first promulgated, the land was part of a federally governed
Federal

Federal or foederal may refer to:In politics:*Central government, the common level of government of a federation,*Federal constitutional monarchy, a federation of monarchies or a federal organised monarchy...
 territory. Unlike Yosemite, there was no state government that could assume stewardship of the land, so the federal government took on direct responsibility for the park, a process formally completed in October 1, 1890—the official first National park of the United States. It took the combined effort and interest of conservationists, politicians and especially businesses—namely, the Northern Pacific Railroad, whose route through Montana would greatly benefit by the creation of this new tourist attraction—to ensure the passage of that landmark enabling legislation by the United States Congress to create Yellowstone National Park. Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt , also known as T.R., and to the public as Teddy, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States....
, already an active campaigner and so influential as good stump speakers were highly necessary in the pre-telecommunications era, was highly influential in convincing fellow Republicans and big business to back the bill.

The "dean of western writers", American Pulitzer prize-winning author Wallace Stegner
Wallace Stegner

Wallace Earle Stegner was an United States historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalism, often called "The Dean of Western Writers"....
, has written that national parks are 'America's best idea,'—a departure from the royal preserves that Old World sovereigns enjoyed for themselves—inherently democratic, open to all, "they reflect us at our best, not our worst." Even with the creation of Yellowstone, Yosemite, and nearly 37 other national parks and monuments, another 44 years passed before an agency was created in the United States to administer these units in a comprehensive way - the U.S. National Park Service
National Park Service

The National Park Service is the List of United States federal agencies that manages all List of areas in the United States National Park System, many U.S....
 (NPS). Businessman Stephen Mather and his journalist partner Robert Sterling Yard
Robert Sterling Yard

Robert Sterling Yard was an American writer, journalist, and wilderness activist. Born in Haverstraw , New York, Yard graduated from Princeton University and spent the first twenty years of his career in the editing and publishing business....
 pushed hardest for the creation of the NPS, writing then-Secretary of the Interior Franklin Knight Lane
Franklin Knight Lane

Franklin Knight Lane was an American Democratic Party politician who served as United States Secretary of the Interior from 1913 to 1920. He also served as a commissioner of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and was the Democratic nominees for governor of california for governor of California in 1902, losing a narrow race in what was the...
 about such a need and spearheading a large publicity campaign for their movement. Lane invited Mather to come to Washington, DC to work with him to draft and see passage of the NPS Organic Act, which was approved by Congress and signed into law on August 25, 1916. Of the sites managed by the National Park Service of the United States, only 58 carry the designation of National Park.

Following the idea established in Yellowstone there soon followed parks in other nations. In Australia, the Royal National Park
Royal National Park

The Royal National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 29 km south of Sydney.Founded by John Robertson , Acting Premiers of New South Wales of New South Wales, and formally proclaimed on 26 April 1879, it is the world's second oldest purposed national park, the first usage of the term "national park" after Yellowston...
 was established just south of Sydney in 1879. Rocky Mountain National Park
Banff National Park

Banff National Park is Canada's oldest National Parks of Canada, established in 1885 in the Canadian Rockies. The park, located 110-180 kilometres west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses 6,641 square kilometres of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense pinophyta forest, and alpine landscapes...
 became Canada's first national park in 1885. New Zealand
National parks of New Zealand

The fourteen National parks of New Zealand are administered by the Department of Conservation .The National Parks Act 1980 provides for the establishment of national parks or reserves in areas where the scenery is of such distinctive quality, or the natural features or ecological systems so important scientifically that their preservatio...
 had its first national park in 1887. In Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 the first national parks were a set of nine parks in Sweden in 1909; Europe has some 370 national parks as of this writing. In 1926, the government of South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
 designated Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park is the largest game reserve in South Africa. It covers 18,989 square km and extends 350 km from north to south and 60 km from east to west....
 as the nation's first national park. After World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, national parks were founded all over the world. The Vanoise National Park
Vanoise National Park

Vanoise National Park , is a French national park in the Alps, created in 1963 after mobilization from the environmentalist movement against a tourism....
 in the Alps
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
 was the first French national park, created in 1963 after public mobilization against a touristic project
Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from...
.

See also

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*List of national parks
List of national parks

This is a list of national parks ordered by nation. Nearly 100 countries around the world have lands classified as a national park....
 (by country)
  • National monument - in the United States
  • Conservation movement
    Conservation movement

    The conservation movement also known as nature conservation is a political, social and, to some extent, scientific movement that seeks to protect natural resources including plant and animal species as well as their habitat for the future....
  • Conservation ecology
  • Federal lands
    Federal lands

    Federal lands are lands in the United States for which ownership is claimed by the U.S. Federal Government. These include national parks, military bases, and the District of Columbia....
     - in the United States
  • National Park Service
    National Park Service

    The National Park Service is the List of United States federal agencies that manages all List of areas in the United States National Park System, many U.S....
     - National Parks in the United States
  • National Park Foundation
    National Park Foundation

    The National Park Foundation is the Congressionally chartered, charitable partner of America's national parks. The National Park Foundation works to strengthen the connection between the American people and their national parks....
  • International Network of Geoparks
    International Network of Geoparks

    The Global Network of National Geoparks is a UNESCO Geoparks programme established in 1998. According to UNESCO, for a Geopark to qualify in the GGN it needs to have:...
  • International Park
  • National Forest
  • Sustainable development
    Sustainable development

    Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future....
  • United Nations Environment Programme
    United Nations Environment Programme

    The UN Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and encourages sustainable development through sound environmental practices....
  • Fossil Park
    Fossil park

    A protected area with rich deposits of fossils is called a fossil park. Fossil parks are used in educating the public. There are many fossil parks all over the world....


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