Which national park was established first in the United States, a landmark of America's conservation history?

Yellowstone National Park was established first in the United States on March 1, 1872.

President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, setting aside a vast region of extraordinary landscapes, wildlife, and geothermal features for public enjoyment. Yellowstone is widely regarded as the world's first national park as well as the first in the United States.

The park occupies parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Its best-known features include Old Faithful geyser, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and large populations of bison, elk, and other wildlife.

Yellowstone was not an untouched wilderness when it was designated. Indigenous peoples had lived in and traveled through the region for thousands of years. A related misconception is that the National Park Service managed Yellowstone from the beginning; the park was initially overseen by the Interior Department and later by the U.S. Army before the National Park Service took over in 1917.