Gallery: Most Beautiful National Parks Seen From Space
(c) GeoEye LLC |01yellowstone
Inspired by a recent trip to Yellowstone National Park, this gallery contains some of the country's most spectacular national parks, as seen from space. Yellowstone's geothermal features are strange enough from the ground, but from orbit they seem even more incongruous (above). The Landsat 7 image below shows Yellowstone Lake and the entire park in false color, which highlights certain features that might not stand out in true color. Water appears dark blue or black, and snow is light blue. Grass fields appear light green, the dark red-and-green is mature forest, and young forest, such as has grown back since the 1988 wildfires, is pink. This collection of 21 national parks and one monument includes many of our favorites we've visited and a few we hope to add to the list someday. Yellowstone National Park ------------------------- __Location:__ Wyoming, Montana, Idaho __Established:__ March 1, 1872 __Size:__ 3,468 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 3,640,185 Yellowstone was the first national park in the country, and in the world. Its famous geothermal features -- including the Grand Prismatic Spring (shown above), Old Faithful and more than 200 other geysers -- are fueled by a [mantle hotspot](http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/hotspottheory.htm). The park's other main attractions are its many large mammal species including grizzly bear, moose, gray wolf, lynx and bison. And of course, the excellent trout fishing. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/yell/) *Images: Above: [GeoEye](http://www.geoeye.com/CorpSite/gallery/detail.aspx?iid=283&gid=51). Below: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=543).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/yellowstonenp2.jpg)
02everglades
Everglades National Park ------------------------ __Location:__ Florida __Established:__ May 30, 1934 __Size:__ 2,357 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 915,538 The marshy, subtropical Everglades park has 36 threatened or protected species living in it, including the Florida panther, West Indian manatee and American crocodile. The park was created to protect the fragile wetlands that were vanishing as the area was drained for agricultural and residential purposes. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/ever/) *Images: Above: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=7763). Below: [USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=2479).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/evergladesnp1.jpg)
03crater-lake
Crater Lake National Park ------------------------- __Location:__ Oregon __Established:__ May 22, 1902 __Size:__ 249 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 448,319 Crater Lake was formed when a stratovolcano called [Mount Mazama](http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs092-02/) collapsed during a massive, explosive eruption 7,700 years ago that blew ash 30 miles high and deposited it over much of the Pacific Northwest and parts of southern Canada. The 1,943-foot deep lake is the deepest in the U.S. and took around 740 years to fill. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/crla/) *Image: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=6944).*
"(c) Space Imaging LLC"04kenai-fjords
Kenai Fjords National Park -------------------------- __Location:__ Alaska __Established:__ Dec. 2, 1980 __Size:__ 1,047 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 297,596 Alaska's smallest national park, Kenai Fjords contains one of the country's largest ice fields. Harding Ice Field feeds 38 glaciers including Bear Glacier (above), which is the park's largest, and Exit Glacier, the only one accessible by road. The area's fjords are carved by the glaciers as they move downhill away from the ice field. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/kefj/) *Image: [GeoEye](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=7097).*
05mount-rainier
Mount Rainier National Park --------------------------- __Location:__ Washington state __Established:__ March 2, 1899 __Size:__ 368 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 1,113,601 The 14,411-foot Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascade Range and the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. This huge stratovolcano is one of 16 volcanoes in the world identified as particularly dangerous, due to its history of large eruptions and its location just 54 miles southeast of Seattle. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/mora/) *Image: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=5876).*
06capitol-reef
Capitol Reef National Park -------------------------- __Location:__ Utah __Established:__ Dec. 18, 1971 __Size:__ 378 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 662,659 Capitol Reef's most striking feature is a nearly 100-mile-long monocline known as the [Waterpocket Fold](http://www.nps.gov/care/naturescience/geology.htm) (above). The park gets its name from the dome-shaped cliffs of Navajo sandstone at the northern end of the fold. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/care/) *Images: Above: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=39171). Below: [NASA/USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8092).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/capitolreefnp2.jpg)
07death-valley
Death Valley National Park -------------------------- __Location:__ California, Nevada __Established:__ Oct. 31, 1994 __Size:__ 5,270 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 984,775 Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the second lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level. It is the hottest, driest place in the country, with an average high of 115 degrees Fahreneheit during July. Temperatures exceeding 120 are not uncommon, and on July 10, 1913, the temperature reached 134. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/deva/) *Images: Above: [USGS/NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=37536). Below: [NASA/USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=6470).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/deathvalleynp1.jpg)
08glacier
Glacier National Park --------------------- __Location:__ Montana __Established:__ May 11, 1910 __Size:__ 1,583 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 2,200,048 There were likely around 150 glaciers in the park when it was established a century ago. Today there are 37, and just 25 that are big enough (greater than 25 acres) to be designated active glaciers. Some scientists estimate [all of them will disappear by 2030](http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/glacier_retreat.htm), and others predict this will happen even earlier if current climate trends persist. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/glac/) *Images: Above: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=43942). Below: [USG/NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=6399).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/glaciernp2.jpg)
09grand-canyon
Grand Canyon National Park -------------------------- __Location:__ Arizona __Established:__ Feb. 26, 1919 __Size:__ 1,902 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 4,388,386 The Grand Canyon averages 4,000 feet deep and reaches 6,000 feet at its deepest point and 15 miles at its widest. The park includes 277 miles of the Colorado River, which has exposed around 2 billion years of geologic history. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/grca/) *Images: Above: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=1366). Below: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=5033).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/grandcanyonnp2.jpg)
10great-sand-dunes
Great Sand Dunes National Park ------------------------------ __Location:__ Colorado __Established:__ Sep. 13, 2004 __Size:__ 130 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 283,284 The main dune field in the park is 30 square miles and contains the tallest dunes in North America, with the Star Dune topping the list at 750 feet. Scientists estimate the [dunes began forming 440,000 years ago](http://www.nps.gov/grsa/naturescience/sanddunes.htm). [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/grsa/) *Images: Above: [USGS/NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=4846). Below: [GeoEye](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=6524).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/sanddunesnp2.jpg)
11arches-and-rainbow-bridge
Arches National Park -------------------- __Location:__ Utah __Established:__ Nov. 12, 1971 __Size:__ 120 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 1,014,405 [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/arch/) The natural arches and bridges in this park (above) and the surrounding area were formed by erosion of the reddish-colored Entrada Sandstone. All of the arches will eventually erode away, and 43 have disappeared since 1970. Rainbow Bridge National Monument -------------------------------- __Location:__ Utah __Established:__ May 30, 1910 __Size:__ 0.25 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 104,501 [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/rabr/) Though not of a national park, the view of Rainbow Bridge in the satellite image below made it too irresistible not to include in this gallery. Though the official website describes it as the *largest* known natural bridge, its 234-foot span is a bit shorter than several other formations, including Utah's Landscape Arch and Kolob Arch. *Images: Above: [NASA/USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=5476). Below: [GeoEye](http://www.geoeye.com/CorpSite/gallery/detail.aspx?iid=147&gid=17).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/rainbowbridgenm.jpg)
12hawaii-volcanoes
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park ------------------------------- __Location:__ Hawaii __Established:__ Aug. 1, 1916 __Size:__ 505 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 1,304,667 This park contains Mauna Loa, Earth's most massive volcano, and Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes. The area has also been designated an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/havo/) *Image: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=49783).*
13grand-teton
Grand Teton National Park ------------------------- __Location:__ Wyoming __Established:__ Feb. 26, 1929 __Size:__ 484 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 2,669,374 The Tetons are among the most impressive mountain ranges in the world. Grand Teton is 13,770 feet tall, but more impressively, it abruptly rises more than 7,000 feet from the Snake River plain below. They are the youngest of the Rocky Mountains, but are made of some of the continent's oldest rocks. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/grte/) *Image: [NASA/USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=2711).*
14wrangell-st-elias
Wrangell–St. Elias National Park -------------------------------- __Location:__ Alaska __Established:__ Dec. 2, 1980 __Size:__ 20,587 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 73,170 This glacier-ridden backcountry outpost is the nation's largest national park. Just two roads offer access to a small portion of it, and bush pilots ferry visitors into the more remote areas. Mount St. Elias is 18,008 feet tall, making it the second highest peak in the U.S., and eight more of the 16 highest peaks in the country are located in the park. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/wrst/) *Images: Above: [NASA/USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=4710). Below: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40973).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/wrangellsteliasnp1.jpg)
15canyonlands
Canyonlands National Park ------------------------- __Location:__ Utah __Established:__ Sept. 12, 1964 __Size:__ 528 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 435,908 One of the most striking features in the image above is the circular structure in the northern part of the park known as Upheaval Dome. [Scientists still aren't sure how it formed](http://www.nps.gov/cany/naturescience/upheavaldome.htm). The two main theories are that it is the result of an asteroid impact or a rising layer of salt known as a salt dome. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/cany/) *Image: [NASA/USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8360).*
16redwood
Redwood National and State Parks -------------------------------- __Location:__ California __Established:__ Jan. 1, 1968 __Size:__ 208 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 418,820 Just 4 percent of the old-growth redwood forests that once covered coastal northern California are left, and nearly half of the remaining redwoods are in the combined Redwood National and State Parks. Some of the park's trees are 2,000 years old, and many are more than 350 feet tall. The park's tallest tree, named Hyperion, is just over 371 feet tall. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/redw/) *Image: [NASA/USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=37075).*
17yosemite
Yosemite National Park ---------------------- __Location:__ California __Established:__ Oct. 1, 1890 __Size:__ 1,189 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 3,901,408 Most visitors to Yosemite spend the majority of their time in Yosemite Valley, where the massive granite that dominates the area has been carved and eroded into the park's iconic Half Dome and El Capitan formations. The Valley's U-shape was created by the movement of glacial ice that may have grown as thick as 4,000 feet. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/yose/) *Image: [NASA/USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=38800).*
18bryce-canyon-and-zion
Bryce Canyon National Park -------------------------- __Location:__ Utah __Established:__ Feb. 25, 1928 __Size:__ 56 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 1,285,492 The centerpiece of this park (above), which is named after Mormon pioneer Ebenezer Bryce, is a collection of stunningly sculpted cliffs known as the [Bryce amphitheater](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BryceCanyon-Amphiteatre1.jpg). The thousands of almost people-shaped spires in the amphitheater and the rest of the park are erosional features known as [hoodoos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_the_Bryce_Canyon_area#Hoodoo_formation_in_Bryce_Canyon). [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/brca/) Zion National Park ------------------ __Location:__ Utah __Established:__ Nov. 19, 1919 __Size:__ 229 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 2,665,972 Not too far from Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion (below) is Utah's first, and most popular park. Zion's cliffs expose 150 million years of geologic formations known collectively as the Grand Staircase. The park's [narrow, steep, water-carved canyons](http://www.zionnational-park.com/images/album2/pages/zion-narrows-r_jpg.htm) star among Zion's many assets. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/zion/) *Images: Above: [USGS/NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=6682). Below: [NASA](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8780).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/zionnp1.jpg)
19shenandoah
Shenandoah National Park ------------------------ __Location:__ Virginia __Established:__ Dec. 26, 1935 __Size:__ 307 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 1,253,386 Shenandoah is a long, narrow park that runs along a portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its 105-mile-long, scenic Skyline Drive often has heavy tourist traffic during the fall when the leaves are changing colors. The park also contains more than 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/shen/) *Image: [NASA/USGS](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=51187).*
20denali
Denali National Park -------------------- __Location:__ Alaska __Established:__ Feb. 26, 1917 __Size:__ 9,492 square miles __Visitors in 2010:__ 378,855 Denali contains the highest mountain in North America at 20,320 feet in elevation. The peak is officially recognized by Alaska as Denali, but is known as Mount McKinley to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The first known ascent of Denali's main summit was in 1913. More than 1,000 climbers visit the mountain each year, but historically only a little over half of the summit attempts are successful. More than 100 people have died on Denali. [More info at nps.gov](http://www.nps.gov/dena/) *Images: Above: [Space Imaging](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=5721). Below: [University of Maryland Global Land Cover Facility](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=3527).* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2011/08/denalinp2.jpg)
