The U.S. National Park Service is celebrating its 100th birthday.
America's 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, formed the National Park Service on August 25, 1916 to “protect the wild and wonderful landscapes” in the United States.
One hundred years later, the organization manages nearly 34 million hectares of land.
The National Park Service oversees more than 400 parks, historic sites, monuments and other areas.
The newest national park is in the northeast state of Maine. President Barack Obama created the park on Wednesday.
(Click on the image to see a National Parks photo gallery.)
FILE - The Wassataquoik Stream flows through Township 3, Range 8, Maine, on land owned by environmentalist Roxanne Quimby, the founder of Burts Bees, Aug. 4, 2015. It is now part of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, founded on Aug. 24, 2016.
People on the National Mall in Washington, looking toward the World War II Memorial, Aug. 25, 2016, recreate a giant, living version of the National Park Service emblem, using brown, green and white umbrellas.
Water plunges 300 feet over Vernal Fall onto the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, California.
Snow covers the entrance sign to Glacier National Park in December, 2012 in West Glacier, Montana.
The National Park Service manages more than just parks, it governs monuments like the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Ingrid Forsmark kayaks on Kintla Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Hikers look up at a fast moving storm as it makes its way through Zion National Park outside of Springdale, Utah. Many of the country's most prominent national parks, including Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Zion, set new visitation records in 2015.
Doris Morgan, of Tampa, Florida, tires to dislodge the Bubble Rock near the summit of South Bubble Mountain in Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine.
This photo shows the mixture of fine sand and pebbles on Glen Haven beach alongside Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan.
A meteor streaks through the sky over Joshua trees and rocks at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert in this 30-minute time exposure from 1998.
John Collins shot this photo of a rare double rainbow over Fossil Butte National Monument in Wyoming.
It is called the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
A family that started a successful business making skin care products donated the land.
The land is home to moose, black bears, coyotes, deer, bobcats, snowshoe hares, fisher cats, bald eagles and Canada lynx.
Some national parks are well over 100 years old. Yellowstone National Park in the western United States was established in 1872 as the first national park in America. It was also the world's first national park.
I'm Dan Friedell.
Dan Friedell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.
Will you visit a national park in the U.S. this year? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
Words in This Story
landscape - n. an area of land that has a particular quality or appearance
manage - v. to have control of (something, such as a business, department, sports team, etc.)
