What was the first national park in the United States, a landmark of the country’s heritage before America250?

Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States, a landmark of the country’s heritage before America250.

President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act on March 1, 1872. The law set aside the area as a public park for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, creating the model for the national park system.

Yellowstone is famous for its geothermal features, including Old Faithful geyser, colorful hot springs and the Grand Prismatic Spring. It also protects a large ecosystem containing species such as bison, elk, grizzly bears and gray wolves.

The park lies mainly in Wyoming, with smaller portions in Montana and Idaho. It is not the same as Yosemite, which became a national park later, in 1890. Yellowstone’s 1872 designation makes it the standard answer to questions about America’s first national park.