Former Monuments
editMonument Name | Photo | Date Established | Date Redesignated/ Incorporated | Status, Agency | Location | Description |
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Ackia Battleground | 1938 | 1961 | National Parkway, NPS |
Mississippi 34°16′41″N 88°44′31″W / 34.278°N 88.742°W |
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Arches | April 12, 1929 | November 12, 1971 | National Park, NPS |
Utah 38°41′N 109°34′W / 38.68°N 109.57°W |
This site features more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the famous Delicate Arch. In a desert climate, millions of years of erosion have led to these structures, and the arid ground has life-sustaining soil crust and potholes, which serve as natural water-collecting basins. Other geologic formations are stone columns, spires, fins, and towers.[1] | |
Badlands | March 4, 1929 | November 10, 1978 | National Park, NPS |
South Dakota 43°45′N 102°30′W / 43.75°N 102.50°W |
The Badlands are a collection of buttes, pinnacles, spires, and grass prairies. It has the world's richest fossil beds from the Oligocene epoch, and the wildlife includes bison, bighorn sheep, black-footed ferrets, and swift foxes.[2] | |
Becharof | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Wildlife Refuge, FWS |
Alaska 58°00′N 156°15′W / 58.00°N 156.25°W |
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Bering Land Bridge | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Preserve, NPS |
Alaska 65°49′59″N 164°10′01″W / 65.833°N 164.167°W |
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Big Hole Battlefield | June 23, 1910 | May 17, 1963 | National Battlefield, NPS |
Montana 46°38′17″N 113°38′38″W / 46.638°N 113.644°W |
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Biscayne | October 18, 1968 | June 28, 1980 | National Park, NPS |
Florida 25°39′N 80°05′W / 25.65°N 80.08°W |
Located in Biscayne Bay, this park at the north end of the Florida Keys has four interrelated marine ecosystems: mangrove forest, the Bay, the Keys, and coral reefs. Threatened animals include the West Indian manatee, American crocodile, various sea turtles, and peregrine falcon.[3] | |
Black Canyon of the Gunnison | March 2, 1933 | October 21, 1999 | National Park, NPS |
Colorado 38°34′N 107°43′W / 38.57°N 107.72°W |
The park protects a quarter of the Gunnison River, which slices sheer canyon walls from dark Precambrian-era rock. The canyon features incredibly steep descents, and is a popular site for river rafting and rock climbing. The deep, narrow canyon, made of gneiss and schist, is often in shadow and therefore appears black.[4] | |
Bryce Canyon | June 8, 1923 | February 25, 1928 | National Park, NPS |
Utah 37°34′N 112°11′W / 37.57°N 112.18°W |
Bryce Canyon is a giant geological amphitheater on the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The unique area has hundreds of tall sandstone hoodoos formed by erosion. The region was originally settled by Native Americans and later by Mormon pioneers.[5] | |
Capitol Reef | August 2, 1937 | December 18, 1971 | National Park, NPS |
Utah 38°12′N 111°10′W / 38.20°N 111.17°W |
The park's Waterpocket Fold is a 100-mile (160 km) monocline that exhibits the earth's diverse geologic layers. Other natural features are monoliths, sandstone domes, and cliffs shaped like the United States Capitol.[6] | |
Carlsbad Cave | October 25, 1923 | May 14, 1930 | National Park, NPS |
New Mexico 32°10′N 104°26′W / 32.17°N 104.44°W |
Carlsbad Caverns has 117 caves, the longest of which is over 120 miles (190 km) long. The Big Room is almost 4,000 feet (1,200 m) long, and the caves are home to over 400,000 Mexican free-tailed bats and sixteen other species. Above ground are the Chihuahuan Desert and Rattlesnake Springs.[7] (WHS) | |
Castle Pinckney | October 15, 1924 | March 29, 1956 | NRHP, Sons of Confederate Veterans |
South Carolina 32°46′26″N 79°54′40″W / 32.774°N 79.911°W |
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Channel Islands | April 26, 1938 | March 5, 1980 | National Park, NPS |
California 34°01′N 119°25′W / 34.01°N 119.42°W |
Five of the eight Channel Islands are protected, and half of the park's area is underwater. The islands have a unique Mediterranean ecosystem originally settled by the Chumash people. They are home to over 2,000 species of land plants and animals, and 145 are unique to them, including the island fox. Professional ferry services offer transportation to the islands from the mainland.[8] | |
Chaco Canyon | March 11, 1907 | December 19, 1980 | National Historical Park, NPS |
New Mexico 36°04′N 107°58′W / 36.06°N 107.97°W |
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Chesapeake and Ohio Canal | January 18, 1961 | January 8, 1971 | National Historical Park, NPS |
Maryland, Washington, D.C. 38°54′00″N 77°03′29″W / 38.900°N 77.058°W |
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Congaree Swamp | October 18, 1976 | November 10, 2003 | National Park, NPS |
South Carolina 33°47′N 80°47′W / 33.78°N 80.78°W |
On the Congaree River, this park is the largest portion of old-growth floodplain forest left in North America. Some of the trees are the tallest in the Eastern US. An elevated walkway called the Boardwalk Loop guides visitors through the swamp.[9] | |
Colonial | December 30, 1930 | June 5, 1936 | National Historical Park, NPS/ Preservation Virginia |
Virginia 37°13′08″N 76°31′05″W / 37.219°N 76.518°W |
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Cinder Cone | May 6, 1907 | August 9, 1916 | National Park, NPS |
California 40°32′49″N 121°19′12″W / 40.547°N 121.320°W |
Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world, is joined by all three other types of volcanoes in this park: shield, cinder dome, and composite. Though Lassen itself last erupted in 1915, most of the rest of the park is continuously active: numerous hydrothermal features, including fumaroles, boiling pools, and bubbling mud pots, are heated by molten rock from beneath the peak.[10] | |
Death Valley | February 11, 1933 | October 31, 1994 | National Park, NPS |
California, Nevada 36°14′N 116°49′W / 36.24°N 116.82°W |
Death Valley is the hottest, lowest, and driest place in the United States. Daytime temperatures have topped 130 °F (54 °C) and it is home to Badwater Basin, the lowest elevation in North America. A diversity of colorful canyons, desolate badlands, shifting sand dunes, sprawling mountains, and over 1000 species of plants populate this geologic graben. Additional points of interest include salt flats, historic mines, and springs.[11] | |
Denali | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Park, NPS |
Alaska 63°20′N 150°30′W / 63.33°N 150.50°W |
Centered on Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, Denali is serviced by a single road leading to Wonder Lake. Denali and other peaks of the Alaska Range are covered with long glaciers and boreal forest. Wildlife includes grizzly bears, Dall sheep, caribou, and gray wolves.[12] | |
Edison Laboratory | July 14, 1956 | September 5, 1962 | National Historical Park, NPS |
New Jersey | ||
Father Millet Cross | September 5, 1925 | September 7, 1949 | State Park, New York |
New York | ||
First State | March 25, 2013 | December 19, 2014 | National Park, NPS |
Delaware | ||
Fort Jefferson | January 4, 1935 | October 26, 1992 | National Park, NPS |
Florida 24°38′N 82°52′W / 24.63°N 82.87°W |
The islands of the Dry Tortugas, at the westernmost end of the Florida Keys, are the site of Fort Jefferson, a Civil War-era fort that is the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere. With most of the park being remote ocean, it is home to undisturbed coral reefs and shipwrecks and is only accessible by plane or boat.[13] | |
Fort Laramie | July 16, 1938 | April 29, 1960 | National Historical Site, NPS |
Wyoming | ||
Fossil Cycad | October 21, 1922 | September 1, 1957 | BLM | South Dakota | ||
Gates of the Arctic | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Park and Preserve, NPS |
Alaska 67°47′N 153°18′W / 67.78°N 153.30°W |
The country's northernmost park protects an expanse of pure wilderness in Alaska's Brooks Range and has no park facilities. The land is home to Alaska natives, who have relied on the land and caribou for 11,000 years.[14] | |
Glacier Bay | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Park and Preserve, NPS |
Alaska 58°30′N 137°00′W / 58.50°N 137.00°W |
Glacier Bay has numerous tidewater glaciers, mountains, fjords, and a temperate rainforest, and is home to large populations of grizzly bears, mountain goats, whales, seals, and eagles. When discovered in 1794 by George Vancouver, the entire bay was covered in ice, but the glaciers have since receded more than 65 miles (105 km).[15] (WHS) | |
Grand Canyon | January 11, 1908 | February 26, 1919 | National Park, NPS |
Arizona 36°04′N 112°08′W / 36.06°N 112.14°W |
The Grand Canyon, carved by the mighty Colorado River, is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 1 mile (1.6 km) deep, and up to 15 miles (24 km) wide. Millions of years of erosion have exposed the colorful layers of the Colorado Plateau in countless mesas and canyon walls, visible from both the north and south rims, or from a number of trails that descend into the canyon itself.[16] (WHS) | |
Grand Canyon "II" | December 22, 1932 | January 3, 1975 | National Park, NPS |
Arizona 36°04′N 112°08′W / 36.06°N 112.14°W |
The Grand Canyon, carved by the mighty Colorado River, is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 1 mile (1.6 km) deep, and up to 15 miles (24 km) wide. Millions of years of erosion have exposed the colorful layers of the Colorado Plateau in countless mesas and canyon walls, visible from both the north and south rims, or from a number of trails that descend into the canyon itself.[17] (WHS) | |
Great Sand Dunes | March 17, 1932 | September 13, 2004 | National Park, NPS |
Colorado 37°44′N 105°31′W / 37.73°N 105.51°W |
The tallest sand dunes in North America, up to 750 feet (230 m) tall, were formed by deposits of the ancient Rio Grande in the San Luis Valley. Abutting a variety of grasslands, shrublands, and wetlands, the park also has alpine lakes, six 13,000-foot mountains, and old-growth forests.[18] | |
Harpers Ferry | June 30, 1944 | 1950 | National Historical Park, NPS |
Virginia, West Virginia | ||
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad | March 25, 2013 | December 19, 2014 | National Historical Park, NPS |
Maryland | ||
Holy Cross | May 11, 1929 | 1963 | Wilderness Area, USFS |
Colorado | ||
Jackson Hole | March 15, 1943 | September 14, 1950 | National Park, NPS |
Wyoming 43°44′N 110°48′W / 43.73°N 110.80°W |
Grand Teton is the tallest mountain in the Teton Range. The park's historic Jackson Hole and reflective piedmont lakes teem with unique wildlife and contrast with the dramatic mountains, which rise abruptly from the sage-covered valley below.[19] | |
Joshua Tree | August 10, 1936 | October 31, 1994 | National Park, NPS |
California 33°47′N 115°54′W / 33.79°N 115.90°W |
Covering large areas of the Colorado and Mojave Deserts and the Little San Bernardino Mountains, this exotic desert landscape is populated by vast stands of the famous Joshua tree. Great changes in elevation reveal starkly contrasting environments including bleached sand dunes, dry lakes, rugged mountains, and maze-like clusters of monzogranite monoliths.[20] | |
Katmai | September 24, 1918 | December 2, 1980 | National Park, NPS |
Alaska 58°30′N 155°00′W / 58.50°N 155.00°W |
This park on the Alaska Peninsula protects the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, an ash flow formed by the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, as well as Mount Katmai. Over 2,000 grizzly bears come here each year to catch spawning salmon. Other wildlife includes caribou, wolves, moose, and wolverines.[21] | |
Kenai Fjords | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Park, NPS |
Alaska 59°55′N 149°39′W / 59.92°N 149.65°W |
Near Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, this park protects the Harding Icefield and at least 38 glaciers and fjords stemming from it. The only area accessible to the public by road is Exit Glacier; the rest must be viewed or reached from boat tours.[22] | |
Kobuk Valley | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Park, NPS |
Alaska 67°33′N 159°17′W / 67.55°N 159.28°W |
Kobuk Valley protects 61 miles (98 km) of the Kobuk River and three regions of sand dunes. Created by glaciers, the Great Kobuk, Little Kobuk, and Hunt River Sand Dunes can reach 100 feet (30 m) high and 100 °F (38 °C), and they are the largest dunes in the Arctic. Twice a year, half a million caribou migrate through the dunes and across river bluffs that expose well-preserved ice age fossils.[23] | |
Lake Clark | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Park, NPS |
Alaska 60°58′00″N 153°25′00″W / 60.96667°N 153.41667°W |
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Lassen Peak | May 6, 1907 | August 9, 1916 | National Park, NPS |
California 40°29′17″N 121°30′18″W / 40.48806°N 121.50500°W |
Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world, is joined by all three other types of volcanoes in this park: shield, cinder dome, and composite. Though Lassen itself last erupted in 1915, most of the rest of the park is continuously active: numerous hydrothermal features, including fumaroles, boiling pools, and bubbling mud pots, are heated by molten rock from beneath the peak.[24] | |
Lehman Caves | January 24, 1922 | October 27, 1986 | National Park, NPS |
Nevada 38°59′N 114°18′W / 38.98°N 114.30°W |
Based around Nevada's second tallest mountain, Wheeler Peak, Great Basin National Park contains 5,000-year-old bristlecone pines, a rock glacier, and the limestone Lehman Caves. It also enjoys some of the country's darkest night skies. Animals which call the park home include Townsend's big-eared bat, pronghorn, and Bonneville cutthroat trout.[25] | |
Lewis and Clark Cavern | May 11, 1908 | August 24, 1937 | State Park, Montana |
Montana | ||
Marble Canyon | January 20, 1969 | January 3, 1975 | National Park, NPS |
Arizona 36°04′N 112°08′W / 36.06°N 112.14°W |
The Grand Canyon, carved by the mighty Colorado River, is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 1 mile (1.6 km) deep, and up to 15 miles (24 km) wide. Millions of years of erosion have exposed the colorful layers of the Colorado Plateau in countless mesas and canyon walls, visible from both the north and south rims, or from a number of trails that descend into the canyon itself.[26] (WHS) | |
Meriwether Lewis | February 6, 1925 | August 10, 1961 | National Parkway, NPS |
Tennessee | ||
Minidoka Internment | January 17, 2001 | May 8, 2008 | National Historic Site, NPS |
Idaho | ||
Mound City Group | March 2, 1932 | May 27, 1992 | National Historical Park, NPS |
Ohio | ||
Mount Olympus | March 2, 1909 | June 29, 1938 | National Park, NPS |
Washington 47°58′N 123°30′W / 47.97°N 123.50°W |
Situated on the Olympic Peninsula, this park straddles a diversity of ecosystems from Pacific shoreline to temperate rainforests to the alpine slopes of Mount Olympus. The scenic Olympic Mountains overlook the Hoh Rain Forest and Quinault Rain Forest, the wettest area in the continental United States.[27] (WHS) | |
Mukuntuweap/ Zion | July 31, 1909 | November 19, 1919 | National Park, NPS |
Utah 37°18′N 113°03′W / 37.30°N 113.05°W |
Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert, this geological wonder has colorful sandstone canyons, mountainous mesas, and countless rock towers. Natural arches and exposed plateau formations compose a large wilderness roughly divided into four ecosystems: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest.[28] | |
Noatak | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Preserve, NPS |
Alaska | ||
Old Kaasan | October 25, 1916 | July 26, 1955 | National Forest, USFS |
Alaska | ||
Papago Saguaro | 1914 | April 7, 1930 | Municipal Park, Arizona, City of Tempe, Water Users Association |
Arizona | ||
Patrick Henry | August 15, 1935 | December 21, 1944 | National Memorial, Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation |
Virginia | ||
Pecos | June 28, 1965 | July 2, 1991 | National Historical Park, NPS |
New Mexico | ||
Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial | June 2, 1936 | October 15, 1966 | National Memorial, NPS |
Ohio |
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Petrified Forest | Arizona 35°04′N 109°47′W / 35.07°N 109.78°W |
December 9, 1962 | 93,532.57 acres (378.5 km2) | 836,799 | This portion of the Chinle Formation has a great concentration of 225-million-year-old petrified wood. The surrounding Painted Desert features eroded cliffs of wonderfully red-hued volcanic rock called bentonite. There are also dinosaur fossils and over 350 Native American sites.[29] | |
Pinnacles | January 16, 1908 | January 10, 2013 | National Park, NPS |
California 36°29′N 121°10′W / 36.48°N 121.16°W |
Named for the eroded leftovers of a portion of an extinct volcano, the park is famous for its massive black and gold monoliths of andesite and rhyolite, which are popular with rock climbers, and a hiker's paradise of quiet trails crossing scenic Coast Range wilderness. The park is home to the endangered California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) and one of the few locations in the world where these extremely rare birds can be seen in the wild. Pinnacles also supports a dense population of prairie falcons, and more than 13 species of bat which populate its talus caves.[30] | |
Saguaro | Arizona 32°15′N 110°30′W / 32.25°N 110.50°W |
October 14, 1994 | 91,439.71 acres (370.0 km2) | 673,572 | Split into the separate Rincon Mountain and Tucson Mountain districts, this park is evidence that the dry Sonoran Desert is still home to a great variety of life spanning six biotic communities. Beyond the namesake giant saguaro cacti, there are barrel cacti, chollas, and prickly pears, as well as lesser long-nosed bats, spotted owls, and javelinas.[31] | |
Santa Rosa Island | May 17, 1939 | July 30, 1946 | National Seashore, NPS |
Florida | ||
Shoshone Cavern | September 21, 1909 | March 17, 1954 | BLM | Wyoming | ||
Sieur de Monts | Maine 44°21′N 68°13′W / 44.35°N 68.21°W |
February 26, 1919 | 47,389.67 acres (191.8 km2) | 2,563,129 | Covering most of Mount Desert Island and other coastal islands, Acadia features the tallest mountain on the Atlantic coast of the United States, granite peaks, ocean shoreline, woodlands, and lakes. There are freshwater, estuary, forest, and intertidal habitats.[32][33] | |
Sitka | March 23, 1910 | October 18, 1972 | National Historical Park, NPS |
Alaska | ||
Tumacácori (Kino Missions) | September 15, 1908 | August 6, 1990 | National Historical Park, NPS |
Arizona | ||
Verendrye | June 29, 1917 | July 30, 1956 | Fort Berthold Indian Reservation | North Dakota | ||
Wheeler | December 7, 1908 | August 3, 1950 | National Forest, USFS |
Colorado | ||
Whitman Mission | 1936 | January 1, 1963 | National Historic Site, NPS |
Washington | ||
Wrangell–St. Elias | Alaska 61°00′N 142°00′W / 61.00°N 142.00°W |
December 2, 1980 | 8,323,147.59 acres (33,682.6 km2) | 74,722 | An immense plot of mountainous country protects the convergence of the Alaska, Chugach, and Wrangell-Saint Elias Ranges, which include many of the continent's tallest mountains and volcanoes, including the 18,008-foot Mount Saint Elias. More than a quarter of the park is covered with glaciers, including the tidewater Hubbard Glacier, piedmont Malaspina Glacier, and valley Nabesna Glacier.[34] (WHS) | |
Yukon–Charley Rivers | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Preserve, NPS |
Alaska | ||
Yukon Flats | December 1, 1978 | December 2, 1980 | National Wildlife Refuge, FWS |
Alaska | ||
Zion 'II' (Kolob Section) | 1937 | 1956 | National Park, NPS |
Utah 37°18′N 113°03′W / 37.30°N 113.05°W |
Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert, this geological wonder has colorful sandstone canyons, mountainous mesas, and countless rock towers. Natural arches and exposed plateau formations compose a large wilderness roughly divided into four ecosystems: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest.[35] |
- ^ "Arches National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Badlands National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Biscayne National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Bryce Canyon National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Capitol Reef National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Carlsbad Caverns National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Channel Islands National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Congaree National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Lassen Volcanic National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Death Valley National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Denali National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Dry Tortugas National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Gates of the Arctic National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Glacier Bay National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Grand Canyon National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Grand Canyon National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Great Sand Dunes National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Grand Teton National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Joshua Tree National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Katmai National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Kenai Fjords National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Kobuk Valley National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Lassen Volcanic National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Great Basin National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Grand Canyon National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Olympic National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Zion National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Petrified Forest National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Pinnacles National Monument". National Park Service. January 9, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ "Saguaro National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Acadia National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Acadia National Park Places To Go". National Park Service. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
- ^ "Wrangell – St. Elias National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
- ^ "Zion National Park". National Park Service. Retrieved 23 March 2010.