Which U.S. national park was established first, in 1872, after being signed into law by President Grant?

Yellowstone National Park was established first among U.S. national parks in 1872.

President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act on March 1, 1872. The law set aside a large area in the territories of Montana and Wyoming as a public park and pleasure ground for the benefit of present and future generations.

Yellowstone is famous for geothermal features including Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Spring, and numerous geysers and hot springs. Its protected landscape also includes forests, rivers, mountains, and wildlife such as bison, elk, and grizzly bears.

Yellowstone is often called the world’s first national park, although protected landscapes and earlier public reserves existed in other forms. Yosemite became a national park in 1890, and the National Park Service itself was not created until 1916. Yellowstone’s creation established a model for large-scale public conservation.