When Yellowstone National Park was founded on March 1, 1872, it became
not only the first national park in the country, it was the first such
entity in the world. Over the next 140 years, additional parks were
added from coast to coast as a direct result of citizen voices demanding
that special places to be preserved for everyday Americans and visitors
from around the world. In the words of writer and historian Wallace
Stegner, the national parks are "the best idea we ever had. Absolutely
American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than
our worst." In this book, each of the system's 59 parks are explored
through dynamic photos that reveal the landscape, plants, animals, and
history that make them unique--along with the challenges scientists and
rangers face in preserving these pristine wild spaces for generations to
come.