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List of national parks of the United States
The
United States
has 59
protected areas
known as
national parks
that are operated by the
National Park Service
, an agency of the
Department of the Interior
. National parks must be established by an act of the
United States Congress
. The first national park,
Yellowstone
, was signed into law by President
Ulysses S. Grant
in 1872, followed by
Mackinac National Park
in 1875 (decommissioned in 1895), and then
Rock Creek Park
(later merged into
National Capital Parks
),
Sequoia
and
Yosemite
in 1890. The
Organic Act
of 1916 created the National Park Service "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Many current National Parks had been previously protected as
National Monuments
by the President under the
Antiquities Act
before being upgraded by Congress. Seven national parks (six in
Alaska
) are paired with a
National Preserve
. While administered together, they are considered as separate
units
and their areas are not included in the figures below. The newest national park is
Pinnacles National Park
, upgraded in 2013.
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