The fully interactive virtual tour in 54180 images
About National Parks
From dramatic wonders of creation such as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite Valley and Yellowstone to isolated preserves of wilderness such as Great Basin National Park and the Mojave Preserve, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of many of America's true jewels. As American settlers moved westward into the Rocky Mountains and many remarkable natural landmarks were discovered, a movement began to set aside the most important of these to insure their preservation for all to enjoy. The National Park Service was created on August 25, 1916. Stephen Tyng Mather is credited with being the impetus behind the Park Service and its strategies.
Even before the Park Service was established, numerous parks had already been designated, starting with Yellowstone in 1872. Other early parks include Sequoia, Crater Lake, Mount Rainier. National Parks are still being created today; a recent one being Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado, so designated in 1999.
National Parks fit into roughly three catagories, natural wonders, historic sites, and undisturbed areas of scenic beauty. Yellowstone's many geysers and hot springs are a prime example of natural wonders, as is the one-mile deep Grand Canyon in Arizona. Mount Rainier in Washington State is a remarkably tall volcanic mountain that sits on the shoulders of the mountains around it and is visible for a great distance in every direction. Mount McKinley in Alaska is the highest mountain in the western hemisphere, 20,230 feet high, located in Denali National Park.
Independance National Historical Park, in Philadelphia, contains Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and other sites associated with the American Independence. Another example of a historical park is Sitka National Historic Park in Alaska, containing a battleground where Tlingit Indians were defeated by Russians in 1804. Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado preserves ruins of cliff dwellings left by ancient Indians.
The National Park Service has gone to great lengths to preserve these sites in their natural or original condition, free from the burdens of civilization. Spectacular scenery and open space typify the national parks.
The UntraveledRoad team is doing its part to preserve these national treasures in a new way, with tens of thousands of images connected together so that you can see the scenery along the roads and trails of many of these parks.
