STUDY / Geography
US national parks flashcards
Put a name to the landscapes, landmarks, and places that make these parks memorable.
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Park history and protection
01 / 50Which US national park was established in 1872, before all the others?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Yellowstone. Yellowstone became a national park on March 1, 1872. Its early protection is why it is recognized as the first US national park.
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07 / 50Which national park protects a vast wetland in southern Florida?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Everglades. Everglades National Park protects part of this subtropical wetland ecosystem.
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09 / 50Which park protects part of the world’s longest known cave system?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Mammoth Cave. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky protects part of the world’s longest known cave system. “Known” matters because exploration can add mapped passages.
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27 / 50Which Colorado park protects North America’s tallest sand dunes?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Great Sand Dunes. Great Sand Dunes protects North America’s tallest dunes at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The surrounding park also includes wetlands and forests.
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44 / 50Which Florida national park is mostly covered by water and protects coral reefs?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Biscayne. Biscayne is about 95% water. Its protected habitats include islands and coral reefs near Miami, so much of the park is explored from the water.
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47 / 50Kīlauea is protected within which national park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes includes the summits of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. Haleakalā is on a different island, Maui.
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Landmarks and landscapes
02 / 50Which river carved much of the Grand Canyon?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Colorado. The Colorado River cut downward through the rock over millions of years. Weathering and erosion from the canyon’s sides also helped shape it.
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04 / 50Half Dome is a landmark in which national park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Yosemite. Half Dome is a granite landmark in Yosemite. Its rounded summit and sheer face make it recognizable from many Yosemite Valley viewpoints.
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12 / 50The Narrows is a river-wading route in which park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Zion. The Narrows follows a narrow stretch of Zion Canyon along the Virgin River.
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15 / 50Skyline Drive runs through which national park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Shenandoah. Skyline Drive follows the Blue Ridge through Shenandoah in Virginia.
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16 / 50The Hoh Rain Forest is part of which national park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Olympic. Olympic National Park protects temperate rain forests in Washington.
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18 / 50Badwater Basin is a landmark in which national park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Death Valley. Badwater Basin is a salt-flat basin below sea level in Death Valley. It is the lowest point in North America.
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19 / 50Which two deserts meet in Joshua Tree National Park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
The Mojave and Colorado deserts. Joshua Tree lies where the Mojave and Colorado desert ecosystems meet.
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23 / 50Which national park contains North America’s highest peak?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Denali. Denali National Park and Preserve surrounds North America’s highest mountain.
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24 / 50Which is the largest US national park by area?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Wrangell–St. Elias. Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska is the largest US national park. The often-quoted 13.2 million acres includes both the national park and the adjoining preserve.
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25 / 50Brooks Falls, known for bears catching salmon, is in which park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Katmai. Brown bears gather at Brooks Falls in Katmai, Alaska.
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26 / 50Exit Glacier is a feature of which national park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Kenai Fjords. Exit Glacier flows from the Harding Icefield in Kenai Fjords.
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28 / 50Which river flows through Black Canyon of the Gunnison?Reveal answerHide answer
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The Gunnison River. The Gunnison River carved the park’s deep, narrow canyon.
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29 / 50Cliff Palace is an ancestral Pueblo dwelling in which park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde protects cliff dwellings and other ancestral Pueblo sites in Colorado.
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31 / 50Which river forms an international boundary in Big Bend National Park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
The Rio Grande. The Rio Grande separates Texas from Mexico along Big Bend’s southern edge.
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34 / 50The white dunes of White Sands are mainly made of which mineral?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Gypsum. The sand is gypsum. White Sands protects a major part of the world’s largest gypsum dune field in New Mexico’s Tularosa Basin.
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36 / 50Which South Dakota park is famous for boxwork cave formations?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Wind Cave. Wind Cave’s boxwork consists of thin calcite fins that form a mesh-like pattern. It is one of the cave’s most distinctive features.
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38 / 50Isle Royale National Park is surrounded by which Great Lake?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Lake Superior. Isle Royale lies in Lake Superior and is part of Michigan. Indiana Dunes, another Great Lakes park, instead borders Lake Michigan.
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40 / 50Indiana Dunes National Park borders which lake?Reveal answerHide answer
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Lake Michigan. Indiana Dunes lies along the southern shore of Lake Michigan.
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45 / 50Fort Jefferson stands in which national park?Reveal answerHide answer
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Dry Tortugas. Fort Jefferson occupies Garden Key in Dry Tortugas, west of Key West.
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49 / 50Lehman Caves are part of which national park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Great Basin. Lehman Caves are in Great Basin National Park in Nevada. The same park also protects high mountain terrain around Wheeler Peak.
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50 / 50The National Park of American Samoa is in which ocean?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
The Pacific Ocean. The park protects tropical forests and marine environments in the South Pacific.
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Locations and regions
03 / 50Where would you find the General Sherman Tree?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Sequoia. General Sherman stands in Sequoia’s Giant Forest. It is famous for its trunk volume, a different measurement from a tree’s height.
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05 / 50Acadia National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Maine. Acadia protects rocky coastline and other landscapes in Maine.
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06 / 50Which park protects the deepest lake in the United States?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Crater Lake. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States. It occupies a volcanic caldera formed after the collapse of Mount Mazama.
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08 / 50Arches National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
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Utah. Arches is in eastern Utah, near Moab.
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10 / 50Rocky Mountain National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
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Colorado. The park is in Colorado and includes several mountain environments, from lower meadows and forests to alpine tundra.
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11 / 50Which Utah park is famous for its hoodoos, tall spires of rock?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Bryce Canyon. Bryce Canyon is known for dense groups of hoodoos, the irregular rock columns in its amphitheaters. The name “canyon” can hide this distinctive landform.
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13 / 50Grand Teton National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Wyoming. Grand Teton protects the Teton Range and nearby lakes in Wyoming.
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14 / 50Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles which two states?Reveal answerHide answer
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Tennessee and North Carolina. The park straddles Tennessee and North Carolina. Its forested ridges are part of the southern Appalachian landscape.
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17 / 50Redwood National Park protects very tall trees in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
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California. Redwood is on California’s northern coast. Coast redwoods are especially famous for height; the giant sequoias of the Sierra Nevada are a different species.
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20 / 50Channel Islands National Park lies off the coast of which state?Reveal answerHide answer
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California. The park includes five islands off southern California.
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21 / 50Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses which Montana national park?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Glacier. Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses Glacier National Park in Montana. Glacier Bay, despite its similar name, is a separate park in Alaska.
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22 / 50Glacier Bay National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
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Alaska. Glacier Bay protects fjords, glaciers, and coastal landscapes in southeast Alaska.
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30 / 50Petrified Forest National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Arizona. Petrified Forest is in Arizona. Its fossilized wood and colorful badlands preserve evidence of landscapes far older than the modern desert.
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32 / 50Guadalupe Mountains National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Texas. Guadalupe Mountains is in west Texas. The park protects an ancient fossil reef as well as the state’s highest mountain peaks.
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33 / 50Carlsbad Caverns National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
New Mexico. Carlsbad Caverns is in southeastern New Mexico. Sulfuric acid dissolved limestone there, creating the park’s underground caverns.
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35 / 50Badlands National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
South Dakota. Badlands protects eroded rock formations and prairie in South Dakota.
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37 / 50Theodore Roosevelt National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
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North Dakota. The park preserves badlands landscapes associated with Roosevelt’s ranching years.
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39 / 50Voyageurs National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Minnesota. Voyageurs is in northern Minnesota. Its many lakes reflect the waterways traveled by the French-Canadian voyageurs for whom the park is named.
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41 / 50Cuyahoga Valley National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Ohio. The park follows the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland and Akron.
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42 / 50Hot Springs National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Arkansas. Hot Springs protects thermal springs and historic bathhouses in Arkansas.
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43 / 50Congaree National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
South Carolina. Congaree is in South Carolina. Floodwater supplies nutrients to its old-growth bottomland hardwood forest, so the rivers help sustain the ecosystem.
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46 / 50Haleakalā National Park is on which Hawaiian island?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
Maui. Haleakalā protects volcanic and coastal landscapes on Maui.
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48 / 50Lassen Volcanic National Park is in which state?Reveal answerHide answer
Answer
California. Lassen Volcanic protects volcanic features in northern California.