Since Yellowstone became the nation's first national park in 1872, American presidents have signed legislation protecting approximately 768 million acres of land and water within national parks, grasslands, forests and monuments. Preservation of these areas' natural beauty and historical significance is the responsibiltiy of several federal government agencies, including the National Park Service, which oversees 401 national parks and the majority of America's 110 national monuments; the U.S. Forest Service, which manages 154 national forests, 20 grasslands, and 439 wilderness areas; and the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees Washington's San Juan Islands and Arizona's Sonoran Desert national monuments and millions of acres of government-owned land.
February is a significant month for America's wilderness and natural wonders. Many of its most majestic national parks, forests, and monuments celebrate anniversaries this month. Below, you can learn more about these and other protected sites through the statistical data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies.
Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southwestern Utah. Despite its name, Bryce Canyon is not a canyon but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.
Bryce Canyon is famous for its "hoodoos"pillars of multicolored sandstone formed by frost and water erosion of the area's sedimentary rocks. The area was settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850s and
was named after Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded in the area in the 1870s and 1880s. The area around Bryce Canyon became a National Monument in 1923 and President Calvin Coolidge designated
35,835 acres as Bryce Canyon National Park on February 25, 1928.
Photo courtesy of the National Park Service.
On February 18, 1907, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that automobile manufacturing grew 461% between 1900 and 1905. Data from the 1905 Census of Manufacturing also found that of the 22,830 automobiles built in 1905, 86.2% were propelled by gasoline, 7.2% by steam, and 6.6 by electricity.
Early motorists found the nation's road network consisted of little more than muddy cart paths once they drove beyond the borders of major cities. When Horatio Nelson Jackson completed the first transcontinental automobile trip between San Francisco and New York City in 1903, the journey in his 1903 Winton (pictured left) took 63 days to complete! Today, a family can comfortably drive from coast to coast in 3 to 4 days and daring rally drivers have (illegally) made the journey in less than 32 hours!
Yellowstone National Park is the oldest and probably best known national park in the United States. The park was established by legislation signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.
Yellowstone National Park resides in the states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. When the park was established, the population of the three states was 44,712. The 2010 Census found Wyoming's population had grown to 563,626; Montana's was 989,415; and Idaho was home to 1,567,582.
The park's greatest featuresand primary reason Yellowstone National Park was establishedare the existence of the majority of the world's geysers, including the "Old Faithful" geyser depicted on this poster. Although not the largest geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful erupts more frequently than any of the other big geysers. It was named for its consistent performance by members of the Washburn Expedition in 1870. Although its average interval has lengthened through the years (due to earthquakes and vandalism), Old Faithful eruptions still occur every 60 to 110 minutes. The geysers 1 1/2 to 5 minute long eruptions can blast 3,700 to 8,400 gallons of boiling water as high as 184 feet into the air.
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.
The 2012 Census of Governments found that federal, state, and local governments employed 418,491 full- and part-time parks and recreation employees and 369,484 natural resource employees. The majority of natural resource employees (49.7 percent) worked for the federal government, while 83.6 percent of parks and recreation employees were employed by state and local governments.