National Parks
| Name |
Type1 |
Location |
Year authorized |
Size acres (hectares) |
Description |
| Acadia |
NP |
SE Maine |
1919 |
48,419 (19,603) |
Mountain and coast scenery. |
| American Samoa |
NP |
American Samoa |
1988 |
9,000 (3,645) |
Two rain forest preserves and a coral reef. |
| Arches |
NP |
E Utah |
1929 |
76,519 (30,979) |
Giant arches formed by erosion; designated a national park in 1971. |
| Badlands |
NP |
SW S.Dak. |
1929 |
242,756 (98,316) |
Gullies, ridges, and other erosional landforms; fossils. See badlands. |
| Big Bend |
NP |
W Tex. |
1935 |
801,163 (324,471) |
Canyons and desert plain on the Rio Grande; Chisos Mts. Designated a national park in 1944. |
| Biscayne |
NP |
SE Fla. |
1968 |
172,924 (70,010) |
Aquatic park encompassing 25 islands. Example of a living coral reef; includes part of Biscayne Bay. Enlarged and designated a national park in 1980. |
| Black Canyon of the Gunnison |
NP |
W Colo. |
1933 |
30,300 (12,272) |
Deep, narrow canyon of the Gunnison River, named for its dark-colored walls, which are always in shadow; designated a national park in 1999. |
| Bryce Canyon |
NP |
SW Utah |
1924 |
35,835 (14,513) |
Canyon with colored walls and rock formations. |
| Canyonlands |
NP |
SE Utah |
1964 |
337,598 (136,679) |
Rocks, spires, and mesas; Native American rock art and ruins. |
| Capitol Reef |
NP |
S Utah |
1937 |
241,904 (97,971) |
Highly colored sandstone cliffs dissected by gorges; named for a white, dome-shaped rock. |
| Carlsbad Caverns |
NP |
SE N.Mex. |
1923 |
46,766 (18,940) |
Great limestone caverns. Designated a national park in 1930. |
| Channel Islands |
NP |
SW Calif. |
1938 |
249,354 (100,988) |
Part of the Santa Barbara Islands. Nesting sea birds, sea lions, and unique plants. |
| Crater Lake |
NP |
SW Oreg. |
1902 |
183,224 (74,206) |
Blue lake in a volcanic crater. |
| Congaree |
NP |
Central S.C. |
1976 |
21,888 (8,862) |
Last significant tract of southern bottomland hardwood forest in the United States. |
| Death Valley |
NP |
SE Calif., SW Nev. |
1933 |
3,367,628 (1,363,412) |
Lowest point in Western Hemisphere; desert environment. |
| Denali |
PP |
S Alaska |
1917 |
6,075,690 (2,459,794) |
Contains Mt. McKinley (Denali), North America's highest mountain (20,237 ft/6,168 m); wildlife preserve. |
| Dry Tortugas |
NP |
S Fla. |
1935 |
64,701 (26,195) |
Contains Fort Jefferson, the largest all-masonry fort in the Western Hemisphere, built 1846. See Dry Tortugas. |
| Everglades |
PE |
S Fla. |
1934 |
1,508,580 (610,761) |
Subtropical wilderness with prairies, mangroves, great variety of birds. See Everglades. |
| Gates of the Arctic |
PP |
N Alaska |
1978 |
8,472,527 (3,430,173) |
Vast wilderness within the Arctic Circle. |
| Glacier |
NP |
NW Mont. |
1910 |
1,013,572 (410,497) |
Glaciers, forests, and lakes; on the Continental Divide. |
| Glacier Bay |
PP |
SE Alaska |
1925 |
3,283,246 (1,329,249) |
Glaciers, ice displays. |
| Grand Canyon |
NP |
NW Ariz. |
1908 |
1,217,403 (492,876) |
Great gorge of the Colorado River. See Grand Canyon. |
| Grand Teton |
NP |
NW Wyo. |
1929 |
309,993 (125,503) |
Scenic portion of the Teton Range; Jackson Hole. |
| Great Basin |
NP |
Nev. |
1986 |
77,180 (31,258) |
Features Lehman Caves, an ice field on Wheeler Peak, ancient bristlecone pines, and a limestone arch. See Great Basin. |
| Great Sand Dunes |
PP |
S Colo. |
1932 |
84,670 (34,257) |
Large, high sand dunes in the Sangre de Cristo Mts. |
| Great Smoky Mountains |
NP |
N.C., Tenn. |
1926 |
521,621 (211,183) |
Wild, beautiful area in the Great Smoky Mountains. |
| Guadalupe Mountains |
NP |
W Tex. |
1966 |
86,416 (34,998) |
Mountain region; contains a limestone fossil reef. |
| Haleakala |
NP |
Maui Island, Hawaii |
1916 |
29,824 (12,074) |
Haleakala crater; rare and endangered species. |
| Hawaii Volcanoes |
NP |
Hawaii Island, Hawaii |
1916 |
209,695 (84,926) |
Volcanic region; lush vegetation. |
| Hot Springs |
NP |
W central Ark. |
1921 |
5,549 (2,247) |
Mineral springs. |
| Isle Royale |
NP |
NW Mich. |
1931 |
571,790 (231,575) |
Forested island in Lake Superior. |
| Joshua Tree |
NP |
S Calif. |
1936 |
1,022,703 (414,050) |
Rare Joshua trees, or "praying plants"; named by Mormons because of upstretched arms. |
| Katmai |
PP |
SE Alaska |
1918 |
4,093,229 (1,657,178) |
Deep forest with lakes and active volcanoes. |
| Kenai Fjords |
NP |
S Alaska |
1978 |
669,983 (271,248) |
Wilderness preserve, vast ice fields, fjords, and outflowing glaciers. |
| Kings Canyon |
NP |
E central Calif. |
1890 |
461,901 (187,070) |
Canyons, peaks, sequoias. |
| Kobuk Valley |
NP |
NW Alaska |
1978 |
1,750,737 (709,048) |
A wildlife preserve north of the Arctic Circle; archaeological remnants of 10,000 years of human habitation. |
| Lake Clark |
PP |
S Alaska |
1978 |
4,030,058 (1,631,602) |
Waterfalls, tundra, and active volcanoes. |
| Lassen Volcanic |
NP |
N Calif. |
1907 |
106,372 (43,081) |
Volcanic peaks and lava formations. |
| Mammoth Cave |
NP |
Central Ky. |
1926 |
52,830 (21,396) |
Longest recorded cave system in the world. |
| Mesa Verde |
NP |
SW Colo. |
1906 |
52,122 (21,109) |
Prehistoric cliff dwellings. |
| Mount Rainier |
NP |
SW Wash. |
1899 |
235,625 (95,395) |
Volcanic peak and glaciers; subalpine meadows. |
| North Cascades |
NP |
N Wash. |
1968 |
504,781 (204,436) |
Area of noted alpine scenery in the Cascade Range; bisected by Ross Lake National Recreation Area. |
| Olympic |
NP |
NW Wash. |
1909 |
922,651 (373,674) |
Rain forests and glaciers in the Olympic Mountains. |
| Petrified Forest |
NP |
E Ariz. |
1906 |
93,533 (37,881) |
Petrified logs; portions of the Painted Desert. |
| Redwood |
NP |
NW Calif. |
1968 |
112,430 (45,518) |
Coastal redwood forests. |
| Rocky Mountain |
NP |
Central Colo. |
1915 |
265,723 (107,580) |
Scenic Rocky Mountains region on the Continental Divide; many high, snowcapped peaks. |
| Saguaro |
NP |
SE Ariz. |
1933 |
91,443 (37,021) |
Saguaro, other cacti, varied desert growth. |
| Sequoia |
NP |
E Calif. |
1890 |
402,510 (162,960) |
Groves of giant sequoias. |
| Shenandoah |
NP |
N Va. |
1926 |
198,081 (80,195) |
Forested region of the Blue Ridge Mts. |
| Theodore Roosevelt |
NP |
W N.Dak. |
1947 |
70,447 (28,531) |
Part of Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch; badlands along the Little Missouri River. |
| Virgin Islands |
NP |
Virgin Islands, on St. John |
1956 |
14,689 (5,949) |
Unusual scenery, marine life, coral gardens; ruins of Danish colonial sugar plantations. |
| Voyageurs |
NP |
N Minn. |
1971 |
218,200 (88,340) |
Scenic northern lakes region; interesting glacial features and history. |
| Wind Cave |
NP |
SW S.Dak. |
1903 |
28,295 (11,459) |
Limestone caverns in the Black Hills. |
| Wrangell–St. Elias |
PP |
SW Alaska |
1978 |
13,176,371 (5,334,563) |
Largest unit in the National Park System; numerous peaks over 16,000 ft (4,900 m), abundant wildlife. |
| Yellowstone |
NP |
Wyo., Mont., Idaho |
1872 |
2,219,791 (899,015) |
Geysers and hot springs, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone; first national park. |
| Yosemite |
NP |
E Central Calif. |
1890 |
761,266 (308,205) |
Mountain region with Yosemite Valley. |
| Zion |
NP |
SW Utah |
1909 |
146,592 (59,349) |
Multicolored canyon in a desert region. |
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