Zion National Park - Utah
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zion_National_Park]Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert, this park contains sandstone features such as mesas, rock towers, and canyons, including the Virgin River Narrows. The various sandstone formations and the forks of the Virgin River create a wilderness divided into four ecosystems: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. USNPs cowpoke
Yosemite National Park -California
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_National_Park]Yosemite features sheer granite cliffs, exceptionally tall waterfalls, and old-growth forests at a unique intersection of geology and hydrology. Half Dome and El Capitan rise from the park's centerpiece, the glacier-carved Yosemite Valley, and from its vertical walls drop Yosemite Falls, one of North America's tallest waterfalls at 2,425 feet (739 m) high. Three giant sequoia groves, along with a pristine wilderness in the heart of the Sierra Nevada, are home to a wide variety of rare ... USNPs cowpoke
Yellowstone National Park - Idaho Montana Wyoming
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_National_Park]Situated on the Yellowstone Caldera, the park has an expansive network of geothermal areas including boiling mud pots, vividly colored hot springs such as Grand Prismatic Spring, and regularly erupting geysers, the best-known being Old Faithful. The yellow-hued Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River contains several high waterfalls, and four mountain ranges traverse the park. More than 60 mammal species including timber wolves, grizzly bears, black bears, lynxes, bison, and elk make this park one USNPs cowpoke
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve - Alaska
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrangell%E2%80%93St._Elias_National_Park_and_Preserve]The largest national park in the system protects the convergence of the Alaska, Chugach, Wrangell, and Saint Elias Ranges, which include many of the continent's tallest mountains and volcanoes, including the 18,008-foot Mount Saint Elias. More than a quarter of the park is covered with glaciers, including the tidewater Hubbard Glacier, piedmont Malaspina Glacier, and valley Nabesna Glacier. USNPs cowpoke
Wind Cave National Park - South Dakota
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_Cave_National_Park]Wind Cave is distinctive for its calcite fin formations called boxwork, a unique formation rarely found elsewhere, and needle-like growths called frostwork. It is one of the longest caves in the world and creates a wind as air pressure changes. Above ground is a mixed-grass prairie with animals such as bison, black-footed ferrets, and prairie dogs and ponderosa pine forests home to cougars and elk. The cave is culturally significant to the Lakota people as a creation site. USNPs cowpoke
White Sands National Park - New Mexico
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Sands_National_Park]Located in the mountain-ringed Tularosa Basin, White Sands consists of the southern part of a 275-square-mile (710 km2) field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals—the world's largest gypsum dunefield. The park is completely within the White Sands Missile Range and is subject to closure when tests are conducted. USNPs cowpoke
Voyageurs National Park - Minnesota
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyageurs_National_Park]This park protecting four lakes near the Canada–US border is a site for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. The park also preserves a history populated by Ojibwe Native Americans, French fur traders called voyageurs, and gold miners. Formed by glaciers, the region features tall bluffs, rock gardens, islands, bays, and several historic buildings. USNPs cowpoke
Virgin Islands National Park United States
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Islands_National_Park]This island park on Saint John preserves pristine beaches surrounded by mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. It also has Taíno archaeological sites and the ruins of sugar plantations from Columbus's time. USNPs cowpoke
Theodore Roosevelt National Park - North Dakota
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt_National_Park]This region that enticed and influenced President Theodore Roosevelt consists of a park of three units in the northern badlands. Besides Roosevelt's historic cabin, there are numerous scenic drives and backcountry hiking opportunities. Wildlife includes American bison, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and wild horses. USNPs cowpoke
Shenandoah National Park - Virginia
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenandoah_National_Park]Shenandoah's Blue Ridge Mountains are covered by hardwood forests that teem with a wide variety of wildlife. The Skyline Drive and Appalachian Trail run the entire length of this narrow park, along with more than 500 miles (800 km) of hiking trails passing scenic overlooks and cataracts of the Shenandoah River. USNPs cowpoke
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks - California
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_National_Park]This park protects the Giant Forest, which boasts some of the world's largest trees, the General Sherman being the largest measured tree in the park. Other features include over 240 caves, a long segment of the Sierra Nevada including the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, and Moro Rock, a large granite dome. USNPs cowpoke
Saguaro National Park - Arizona
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro_National_Park]Split into the separate Rincon Mountain and Tucson Mountain districts, this park is evidence that the dry Sonoran Desert is still home to a great variety of life spanning six biotic communities. Beyond the namesake giant saguaro cacti, there are barrel cacti, chollas, and prickly pears, as well as lesser long-nosed bats, spotted owls, and javelinas. USNPs cowpoke
Rocky Mountain National Park - Colorado
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_National_Park]Bisected north to south by the Continental Divide, this portion of the Rockies has ecosystems varying from over 150 riparian lakes to montane and subalpine forests to treeless alpine tundra. Wildlife including elk, moose, mule deer, bighorn sheep, black bears, and cougars inhabit its igneous mountains and glacial valleys. Longs Peak, a classic Colorado fourteener, and the scenic Bear Lake are popular destinations, as well as the historic Trail Ridge Road, which reaches an elevation of more than USNPs cowpoke
Redwood National and State Parks - California
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redwood_National_and_State_Parks]This park and the co-managed state parks protect almost half of all remaining coastal redwoods, the tallest trees on earth. There are three large river systems in this very seismically active area, and 37 miles (60 km) of protected coastline reveal tide pools and seastacks. The prairie, estuary, coast, river, and forest ecosystems contain a wide variety of animal and plant species. USNPs cowpoke
Pinnacles National Park California
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinnacles_National_Park]Named for the eroded leftovers of a portion of an extinct volcano, the park's massive black and gold monoliths of andesite and rhyolite are a popular destination for rock climbers. Hikers have access to trails crossing the Coast Range wilderness. The park is one of the few locations where the endangered California condor can be seen in the wild. Pinnacles also supports a dense population of prairie falcons and more than 13 species of bat that populate its talus caves. USNPs cowpoke
Petrified Forest National Park - Arizona
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrified_Forest_National_Park]This portion of the Chinle Formation has a large concentration of 225-million-year-old petrified wood. The surrounding Painted Desert features eroded cliffs of red-hued volcanic rock called bentonite. Dinosaur fossils and over 350 Native American sites are also protected in this park. USNPs cowpoke
Olympic National Park - Washington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_National_ParkThis park on the Olympic Peninsula includes a wide range of ecosystems from Pacific shoreline to temperate rainforests to the glaciated alpine peaks of the Olympic Mountains, the tallest of which is Mount Olympus. The Hoh and Quinault Rainforests are the wettest areas in the contiguous United States, with the Hoh receiving an average of almost 12 ft (3.7 m) of rain every year. USNPs cowpoke
North Cascades National Park - Washington
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Cascades_National_Park]The highly glaciated mountains of the North Cascades Range exhibit a spectacular and complex geologic history. Between the river valleys and high peaks there are eight diverse life zones with 75 mammal and 1,600 vascular plant species. Popular hiking and climbing areas of the Stephen Mather Wilderness include Cascade Pass, Mount Shuksan, Mount Triumph, and Eldorado Peak. Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas adjoin the two segments of the park and are all administered together. USNPs cowpoke
New River Gorge National Park - West Virginia
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_River_Gorge_National_Park_and_Preserve]The New River Gorge is the deepest river gorge east of the Mississippi River. The park primarily covers the lower gorge area around the New River Gorge Bridge, which features some of the country's best whitewater rafting. Smaller noncontiguous sections showcase the ghost town of Thurmond, the scenic Grandview vista, and Sandstone Falls. The other 65,165 acres (263.71 km2) of the redesignated national river is now a national preserve, spanning 53 mi (85 km) of the New River. USNPs cowpoke
Mount Rainier National Park - Washington
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rainier_National_Park]Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the most prominent peak in the Cascades and is covered by 26 named glaciers including Carbon Glacier and Emmons Glacier, the longest and largest in the contiguous United States respectively. The mountain is popular for climbing, and more than half of the park is covered by subalpine and alpine forests and meadows seasonally in bloom with wildflowers. Paradise on the south slope is among the snowiest places on Earth.[89] The Longmire visitor center is th USNPs cowpoke
