The first visitors to America's National Parks, more than a century ago
 

The first visitors to America's National Parks, more than a century ago
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1887

Tourists pose on Glacier Point above the Yosemite Valley.

Image: Library of Congress

Though it was inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years, the area of the Wyoming and Montana territories k**wn as Yellowstone was **t mapped in detail until the late 1860s

After an 1871 survey documented the space's stunning natural beauty and unique geological character — perched atop the largest supervolca** on the continent, the area contains half of the world’s geothermal features — Congress was persuaded to protect the region from development and settled it aside as the first National Park.

Other national parks were soon dedicated in turn, including California’s Yosemite national park in 1890. Tourists and adventurers drawn by photographs of dramatic peaks, valleys, waterfalls, lakes and geysers, flocked by rail, car and horse to these early preserves. Read more...

More about Yosemite, Yellowstone, National Park Service, National Parks, and Historyhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Mashable/~4/U5ongQIBTho