National park

A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation of 'wild nature' for posterity and as a symbol of national pride. An international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined "National Park" as its Category II type of protected areas.

While this type of national park had been proposed previously, the United States established the first "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people", Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. Although Yellowstone was not officially termed a "national park" in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. The first area to use "national park" in its creation legislation was the US's Mackinac Island, in 1875. Australia's Royal National Park, established in 1879, was the world's third official national park. In 1895 ownership of Mackinac Island was transferred to the State of Michigan as a state park and national park status was consequently lost. As a result, Australia's Royal National Park is by some considerations the second oldest national park now in existence.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Sioux Falls (/ˌsuː ˈfɔːlz/) (Lakota: Íŋyaŋ Okábleča Otȟúŋwahe; "Stone Shatter City") is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south. It is the 47th fastest-growing city in the United States and the fastest-growing metro area in South Dakota, with a population increase of 22% between 2000 and 2010.

As of 2014, Sioux Falls had an estimated population of 168,586. The metropolitan population of 248,351 accounts for 29% of South Dakota's population. It is also the primary city of the Sioux Falls-Sioux City Designated Market Area (DMA), a larger media market region that covers parts of four states and has a population of 1,043,450. Chartered in 1856 on the banks of the Big Sioux River, the city is situated in the rolling hills on the western edge of the Midwest at the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 29.

History

The history of Sioux Falls revolves around the cascades of the Big Sioux River. The falls were created about 14,000 years ago during the last ice age. The lure of the falls has been a powerful influence. Ho-Chunk, Ioway, Otoe, Missouri, Omaha (and Ponca at the time), Quapaw, Kansa, Osage, Arikira, Dakota, Nakota and Cheyenne people inhabited the region previous to European descendants. Numerous burial mounds still exist on the high bluffs near the river. The inhabitants maintained an agricultural society with fortified villages on many of the same sites that were previously settled. Lakota populate urban and reservation communities in the contemporary state and many Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, and other Indigenous Americans reside in Sioux Falls today.

Falls Park

Falls Park is a public park located in north central Sioux Falls, South Dakota, surrounding the city's falls. Through it runs the Big Sioux River, and it includes a café, observation tower, and the remains of an old mill.

Buildings

Falls Overlook Café

The Falls Overlook Café is located across the river from the observation tower and is inside a building that used to house a hydroelectric plant. It is open for lunch and dinner everyday during the summer months.

Observation tower

The observation tower is connected to the visitor center. It is open from 9am - 9pm Daily Memorial Day-Labor Day, for all other times of year go to VisitSiouxFalls.com/FallsPark. The visitor center offers guidance to those visiting the city as well as a variety of Sioux Falls souvenirs.

Queen Bee Mill

The mill opened in late 1881, and consisted of a seven-story main structure built of Sioux quartzite quarried on site. Nearly $500,000 was spent on the construction of the state-of-the-art mill and its supporting structures. The mill could process 1,500 bushels each day. However, by 1883, the mill was closed — a victim of inadequate water power and a short supply of wheat.

South Dakota

South Dakota (ⁱ/ˌsaʊθ dəˈkoʊtə/; locally [ˌsɑʊθ dəˈko̞ɾə]) is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes. South Dakota is the 17th most extensive, but the 5th least populous and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Once the southern portion of the Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with North Dakota. Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 165,000, is South Dakota's largest city.

South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana. The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as "East River" and "West River". Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state's population, and fertile soil in this area is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. The Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, are located in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is located there. South Dakota experiences a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The ecology of the state features species typical of a North American grassland biome.

Katmai National Park and Preserve

Katmai National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park and Preserve in southern Alaska, notable for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and for its Alaskan brown bears. The park and preserve covers 4,093,077 acres (6,395.43 sq mi; 16,564.09 km²), being roughly the size of Wales. Most of this is a designated wilderness area in the national park where all hunting is banned, including over 3,922,000 acres (1,587,000 ha) of land. The park is named after Mount Katmai, its centerpiece stratovolcano. The park is located on the Alaska Peninsula, across from Kodiak Island, with headquarters in nearby King Salmon, about 290 miles (470 km) southwest of Anchorage. The area was first designated a national monument in 1918 to protect the area around the major 1912 volcanic eruption of Novarupta, which formed the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a 40-square-mile (100 km²), 100-to-700-foot-deep (30 to 213 m) pyroclastic flow. The park includes as many as 18 individual volcanoes, seven of which have been active since 1900.