Gwaii Haanas National Park, British Columbia, Canada.
1
Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site, often referred to simply as Gwaii Haanas, is located in the southernmost Queen Charlotte Islands, which are also known as Haida Gwaii, 130 kilometres off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. Gwaii Haanas protects an archipelago of 138 islands, the largest being Moresby Island and the southernmost being Kunghit Island.
Apostle Islands, Wisconsin, USA.
2.
The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Bayfield County. All the islands except for Madeline Island are part of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
The islands are the spiritual home for the Lake Superior Chippewa. The islands were named the Apostle Islands by New France historian Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, who named them after the 12 apostles (even though there were 22 islands).
Gros Morne, Newfoundland, Canada.
3.
Gros Morne National Park is a world heritage site located on the west coast of Newfoundland. At 1,805 km2 (697 sq mi), it is the second largest national park in Atlantic Canada (surpassed by the Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve at 9,600 km2/3,700 sq mi).
The park takes its name from Newfoundland’s second-highest mountain peak (at 2,644 ft/806 m) located within the park. Its French meaning is “large mountain standing alone,” or more literally “great sombre.” Gros Morne is a member of the Long Range Mountains, an outlying range of the Appalachian Mountains, stretching the length of the island’s west coast. It is the eroded remnants of a mountain range formed 1.2 billion years ago. “The park provides a rare example of the process of continental drift, where deep ocean crust and the rocks of the earth’s mantle lie exposed.”
Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska, USA.
4.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in southern Alaska. It was established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The park area is included in an International Biosphere Reserve and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest national park in the United States by area, covering an area of 20,587 mi² (53,321 km²), or over 13 million acres (53,000 km²). In fact, it is larger than nine U.S. States. The Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness is the largest designated wilderness in the United States. It includes the second-highest peak in the country, Mount Saint Elias, at 18,008 feet (5,489 m). It borders on Canada’s Kluane National Park and Reserve. The vast majority of the park is designated as wilderness.
Great Bassin, White Pine County, Nevada, USA
5.
Great Basin is a United States National Park established in 1986, located in east-central Nevada near its border with Utah. The park derives its name from the Great Basin, the dry and mountainous region between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch Mountains. Topographically, this area is known as the Basin and Range Province. The park is located approximately 290 miles (470 km) north of Las Vegas and protects 120.6 square miles (312.4 km2) of land.
Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska, USA.
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Kenai Fjords National Park is a United States National Park established in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. The park covers an area of approximately 1,760 mi2 on the Kenai Peninsula in southcentral Alaska near the town of Seward. The park contains the Harding Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in the United States.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, USA.
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs northeast to southwest through the centerline of the park. It is the most visited national park in the United States. On its route from Maine to Georgia, the Appalachian Trail also passes through the center of the park. The park was chartered by the United States Congress in 1934 and officially dedicated by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940.It encompasses 814 square miles (2,108 km²), making it one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States.
Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.
8.
Banff is Canada’s oldest national park, established in 1885 in the Rocky Mountains. The park, located 110-180 kilometres (70-110 mi) west of Calgary in the province of Alberta, encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi) of mountainous terrain, with numerous glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north.
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, USA.
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Crater Lake National Park is a United States National Park located in Southern Oregon whose primary feature is Crater Lake. It was established on May 22, 1902, as the sixth National Park in the U.S. The park encompasses Crater Lake’s caldera, which rests in the remains of a destroyed volcano posthumously called Mount Mazama. It is the only National Park in Oregon.
The lake is 1,949 feet (594 m) deep at its deepest point which makes it the deepest lake in the United States, second in North America, and according to Wikipedia’s list of lakes by depth, the ninth deepest anywhere in the world.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA.
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Badlands National Park, in southwest South Dakota, United States preserves 244,000 acres (98,740 ha) of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States.
The Badlands Wilderness protects 64,144 acres (25,958 ha) of the park as a designated wilderness area and is the site of the reintroduction of the black-footed ferret, the most endangered land mammal in North America.