Which site became the first U.S. national park in 1872?

Yellowstone National Park became the first U.S. national park on March 1, 1872. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, reserving the area for public benefit and enjoyment.

Yellowstone’s landscape includes geysers, hot springs, mud pots, waterfalls, and a large volcanic caldera. Its geothermal features helped attract scientific and public attention during the nineteenth century. The park’s famous Old Faithful geyser was named for its relatively predictable eruptions, not because it erupts at exactly fixed intervals.

The national park idea created a new model for protecting scenic and scientific places. Yellowstone was not the first land in the United States to receive special protection, but it was the first area set aside by a national government specifically as a public park.

The park is primarily in Wyoming, with smaller sections in Montana and Idaho. It is also part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, a much larger region that supports species such as bison, elk, grizzly bears, and gray wolves.