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.

List of national parks of the United States

The United States has 59 protected areas known as national parks that are operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. National parks must be established by an act of the United States Congress. The first national park, Yellowstone, was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, followed by Mackinac National Park in 1875 (decommissioned in 1895), and then Rock Creek Park (later merged into National Capital Parks), Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. The Organic Act of 1916 created the National Park Service "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Many current National Parks had been previously protected as National Monuments by the President under the Antiquities Act before being upgraded by Congress. Seven national parks (six in Alaska) are paired with a National Preserve. While administered together, they are considered as separate units and their areas are not included in the figures below. The newest national park is Pinnacles National Park, upgraded in 2013.

National park (disambiguation)

A national park is a reserve of land.

National Park may also refer to:

See also

Chaloem Rattanakosin National Park

Chaloem Rattanakosin National Park (Thai: อุทยานแห่งชาติเฉลิมรัตนโกสินทร์), also known as Tham Than Lot National Park, is a national park in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. The park, featuring mountains, caves and waterfalls, is part of the Western Forest Complex protected area.

Geography

Chaloem Rattanakosin National Park is located 97 kilometres (60 mi) north of Kanchanaburi town in Nong Prue District. With an area of 59 square kilometres (23 sq mi), it is the smallest park in Kanchanaburi Province.

The highest peak of the park's mountains is Kam Pang with a height of 1,260 metres (4,130 ft).

History

Artefacts and human remains, thought to be from invading Burmese soldiers at end of the Ayutthaya Kingdom period, have been discovered in the park.

On 12 February 1980, Chaloem Rattanakosin was designated Thailand's 17th national park.

Attractions

The park's main attractions are its cave systems. 300 metres (980 ft) long Tham Than Lot Noi features many large stalactites and stalagmites. Tham Than Lot Yai also features stalactites and stalagmites in addition to being a site where ancient skeletal remains and weapons have been found.