national park

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Discover the national parks in the United States

Exmoor National Park, West Somerset, England

national park

Q: What is a national park?

A national park is an area set aside by a national government for the preservation of the natural environment. A national park may be set aside for public recreation and enjoyment or for its historical or scientific interest while keeping most landscapes and their accompanying plants and animals in their natural state.

Q: What was the first national park?

Yellowstone National Park , which was established in 1872, is generally considered the first national park in the world. However, some have argued that there is evidence that the creation of Yellowstone was predated by the creation of Bogd Khan Mountain National Park in Mongolia, which may date from as early as 1778.

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 5, 2024 • Article History

Yosemite National Park

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Category: History & Society

Key People:: Franklin K. Lane

Related Topics:: tourism; park; park ranger

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What is a national park?

What was the first national park?

national park, an area set aside by a national government for the preservation of the natural environment. A national park may be set aside for purposes of public recreation and enjoyment or because of its historical or scientific interest. Most of the landscapes and their accompanying plants and animals in a national park are kept in their natural state. The national parks in the United States and Canada tend to focus on the protection of both land and wildlife, those in the United Kingdom focus mainly on the land, and those in Africa primarily exist to conserve animals. Several other ...(100 of 587 words)

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