What is the oldest national park in the United States?

Yellowstone National Park is the oldest national park in the United States.

Congress established Yellowstone National Park on March 1, 1872, when President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act. The park spans parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho and was created to preserve its extraordinary geothermal features, landscapes, and wildlife for public enjoyment.

Yellowstone is famous for geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and colorful pools. Old Faithful is its best-known geyser, although the park contains many other geothermal systems. The Yellowstone Caldera is one of the world’s largest active volcanic systems, and its geological activity shapes the landscape beneath the surface.

The park is often described as the world’s first national park, not merely the first in the United States. Its creation helped inspire the development of national-park systems in other countries. Yosemite became a national park later, in 1890, so it is not the answer despite being one of America’s most famous protected landscapes.