BASIC MAP

The USA

The United States comprises 50 states and occupies a large area of ​​North America, from Alaska in the northwest to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean

The Yellowstone National Park

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Yellowstone National Park is a protected area located in the United States, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and straddles three states

Grand Teton National Park

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Grand Teton National Park is located in the state of Wyoming in the United States of America.The park covers an area of ​​1,254 km² and is known for its mountainous landscapes dominated by the Grand Teton mountain, which rises up to 4,199 m in altitude.[2] Its rocks, more than two billion years old, are among the oldest on the planet, but the current relief is of recent formation, dating back to about ten million years

Great crowds of people from throughout the world come to see this marvel each year. Most visitors peer over the rim from up top to the canyon floor a mile below. The more hardy souls hike or ride donkeys down to the bottom and then must hike back up. The lucky ones experience the floor of the canyon from rafts that float down the Colorado River.

The Grand Canyon National Park

Nothing can quite prepare a person for the awe-inspiring grandeur of one of the most famous places in the world. The Grand Canyon winds for 277 miles (446) km across northwestern Arizona in an intricately carved chasm of imposing peaks, buttes, gorges, and ravines in layers of red, buff and gray, delicate green and pink, brown, slate gray, and purple rock—all formed over millions of years.

The park’s close proximity to Denver to the southeast makes it one of the country’s most-visited parks, and it is a haven for hikers, climbers, and campers. Many try their luck scaling Longs Peak, one of Colorado’s famed “Fourteener” mountains. Most, however, try climbing lower peaks or stay on the park’s hundreds of miles of trails. A highly popular activity is driving up Trail Ridge Road, which crosses the divide above 12,000 feet and affords panoramic vistas.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Straddling the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado, this park encompasses a spectacular portion of the southern Rocky Mountains. It is home to dozens of peaks over 12,000 feet (3,650 meters) in elevation, capped by Longs Peak at 14,259 feet (4,346 meters).

Mount Rainier National Park

Anyone in Seattle, Washington, who looks southeast on a clear day, will catch sight of the gigantic, looming Mount Rainier, a dormant glacier-covered volcano. Such viewings are fairly rare, though, as the mountain is frequently shrouded in clouds. It also receives large amounts of precipitation, most notably snow; the park has recorded some of the world’s highest annual snowfall accumulations. All that moisture produces lush vegetation that includes towering conifers and fantastic displays of wildflowers in spring and summer. Mount Rainier is a mountaineering mecca, with thousands of climbers ascending to its 14,410-foot (4,392-meter) summit annually.

Of note is the Hoh River rainforest on the range’s western slope that supports growths of giant Sitka spruce and western hemlock trees and a forest floor thickly carpeted with mosses, lichens, and ferns. Large yellow Pacific banana slugs are often seen there. A small unit of the park on the west coast of the peninsula contains scenic beaches and islets.

Olympic National Park

Another spectacular area close to Seattle is Olympic National Park, an ecologically diverse wonderland occupying much of the Olympic Peninsula in northwestern Washington. It preserves the Olympic Mountains and their magnificent temperate rainforest vegetation, in which a rich array of animal species thrive.

Mammoth Cave National Park

Lying underneath a portion of west-central Kentucky is the vast Mammoth Cave. Along with connected caves to the east and west, the entire mapped complex constitutes the largest cave system in the world. The caves were formed by the dissolution of limestone by water, which also produced striking stalactite and stalagmite rock formations. The cave is inhabited by several unique animal species, including cave crickets, eyeless fish, and eyeless crayfish. A highlight of cave tours occurs when the lights are turned out, and visitors are momentarily plunged into total darkness and silence.