Congress passed a bill, which was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on June 30, 1864 that set aside Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove, that stated the lands be held “…for public use, resort, and recreation…
People Also Ask
An act establishing Yellowstone National Park was signed into law by President Ulysses S.Grant on March 1, 1872.
The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska: at over 8 million acres (32,375 km2), it is larger than each of the nine smallest states. The next three largest parks are also in Alaska.
Yellowstone National Park - 1872On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant designated Yellowstone as the first national park in the United States and the world. Today, the park is home to the world's largest collection of geysers, including the iconic Old Faithful.
Roosevelt went on to strengthen the protections of public lands, campaigning on conservation for the Vice Presidency in 1900 and later as President, establishing the National Parks system that currently protects not just Yellowstone, but 85 million total acres of American lands.
During his very active presidency, Theodore Roosevelt established approximately 230 million acres of public lands between 1901 and 1909, including 150 national forests, the first 55 federal bird reservation and game preserves, 5 national parks, and the first 18 national monuments.
What Is the State With the Most National Parks? That state with the most national parks is California, with nine of the nation's 61 national parks within its borders. The total acreage of these nine national parks in California is more than 6.3 million acres.