Which place became the world’s first national park in 1872?

Yellowstone National Park became the world’s first national park in 1872.

President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act on March 1, 1872. The law set aside more than two million acres in the territories of Montana and Wyoming, with a small portion extending into Idaho, for public benefit and enjoyment.

Yellowstone was protected because of its extraordinary geothermal features, including geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. Its wildlife, canyons, waterfalls, and mountain landscapes also became central to the park’s appeal.

The park’s creation established a model for government protection of large natural landscapes. Yosemite had been protected earlier through federal and state actions, but it did not become a national park until 1890. Yellowstone’s 1872 designation is therefore the key milestone in the global national-park movement.