Picturesque Parks Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yellowstone

Yellowstone was established by Ulysses S. Grant in the early part of 1872. It is famous for hot springs, geysers, and mud pots, as well as various other geothermal features. My personal favorite is the Morning Glory Pool, a hot spring found only after a three mile hike, though the park is more known for the punctually erupting geyser known as Old Faithful (though it's not the only geyser in the park).

The park has also suffered many fires throughout the years, including a well-known fire in 1988 that closed the park in its entirety and burned 36% of the total acreage of Yellowstone.

Answer: Arches

The rock formation in the picture is of the Delicate Arch, a symbol of the Arches National Park in Utah. The location became a National Monument in 1929, but it wasn't until 1971 that it became a National Park. The Park contains over 2,000 naturally occurring arches of sandstone, mostly created through an eroding process taking place over thousands and thousands of years.

Unfortunately, since 1970, dozens of these natural arches have collapsed due to further erosion; but since there are hundreds of arches throughout, it is still a wonderful place to visit!

Answer: Grand Canyon

All of these canyons mentioned are National Parks in the United States, but only the Grand Canyon is located in Arizona (Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Bryce Canyon, and Kings Canyon are located in Colorado, Utah, and California, respectively). The Park became a National Monument in 1908, and a National Park in 1919.

In 1979, the beautiful park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Additionally, the Grand Canyon is often considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The canyons were created by erosion from the flow of the Colorado River; it took millions of years to carve that deep into the earth with just a single river!

Answer: Everglades

The Everglades, in Southern Florida, is a beautiful National Park containing all sorts of mangroves, estuaries, marshes, and the like. It is one of only three locations in the world to be considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1979), Wetland of International Important, and International Biosphere Reserve. It has been a National Park since 1934.

Unfortunately, human involvement has threatened the park rather severely, and well over half of the original Everglades are no more.

Answer: Mesa Verde

Mesa Verde National Park was designated as such in 1906, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. The picture seen to the left is part of what is known as the Cliff Palace, one of the more famous cliff-dwellings of Mesa Verde.

Mesa Verde comes from the Spanish words for "green table", which represents the style of farming the Anasazi (who lived in these cliff homes from roughly 600-1300 AD). They created mesas, which are flat regions projecting from the cliffs, and do resemble "green tables" when covered with vegetation.

Answer: Crater Lake

Crater Lake National Park is found in the caldera (from the Latin for "cauldron", a depression in the earth after a volcanic eruption) of Mount Mazama. The lake has no inlets or outlets, so all of the water found within comes from precipitation. The lake is nearly 2,000 feet in depth (600 meters), which makes it the deepest lake within the United States, and the second deepest lake within North America.

The National Park was established in 1902, and includes not only the lake but surrounding regions including the Pumice Desert, which is a large area of thick pumice and ash which prevents the growth of vegetation in that region.

Answer: Death Valley

Death Valley became a National Monument in 1933, and it was not until 1994 that it actually became a National Park. The desert-like area is home to over a thousand species of plants and animals that have adapted to such a climate though the heat is tremendous and the water is lacking.

In fact, Death Valley is considered the hottest place in the United States, frequently researches temperatures well over 100 (1913 saw a record of 134 degrees Fahrenheit). In fact, Death Valley is so frequently the hottest part of the United States (an average summer includes an average high of 120F with a low of 88F), that some weather reports do not even include the Park when tabulating the "hottest places" of that time! But if you do not mind the heat, it is definitely worth a visit; the Death Valley National Park is a beauty.

Answer: Mammoth Cave

Mammoth Cave National Park was discovered in the late 1700s, though it wasn't until 1972 that it was discovered how massive the cave system truly was, making it the longest in the world. In fact, with nearly 400 miles (640 km) of cave, the length of Mammoth Cave dwarfs the second longest cave system in the world, which is less than half the size! Mammoth Cave became a National Park in 1941, and was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.

An interesting tidbit: the name "Mammoth" Cave does not at all refer to the discovery of woolly mammoth fossils discovered in the cave system. In fact, the name simply refers to the large size of the caves. Being twice the length as the next longest cave system (which is in Mexico), it certainly is "mammoth"!

Answer: Redwood

The Redwood National Park was established as such in 1968, and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. The trees contained within the park have a lengthy lifespan of 1200-1800 years (or perhaps even longer). These Coastal Redwoods are also well known as being the tallest in the world, reaching heights of over 350 feet (roughly 110 meters). Though the Sequoia National Park contains the world's largest tree (its 'General Sherman' is the largest by volume), the Redwood National Park does contain the world's tallest tree; the Hyperion, discovered in 1978, reaches just over 379 feet (115 m).

Answer: Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay National Park (not to be confused with Glacier National Park in Montana), is a wonderful place to visit, and is found in Alaska. It became a National Monument in 1925, and a National Park in 1980. It actually became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, before it was a National Park. Most of the region is considered wilderness, though the places you can visit are pretty spectacular (Glacier Bay cruises can be beautiful).