Which U.S. national park, now managed by the National Park Service, was established in 1872 as the world's first national park?

Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 as the world's first national park and is now managed by the National Park Service.

President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act on March 1, 1872. The law set aside more than 2 million acres in what was then the Wyoming Territory, reserving the region's geothermal features, wildlife, forests, and landscapes for public enjoyment rather than private settlement.

Yellowstone was not initially run by the National Park Service. The U.S. Army administered the park from 1886 until 1917, when management transferred to the agency created the previous year. This is a common source of confusion: Yellowstone predates the National Park Service by 44 years.

The park spans parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It is especially known for Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, and one of the world's largest active volcanic systems. Indigenous peoples have lived in and used the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years, so describing it as the first national park does not mean it was an untouched or uninhabited landscape.