This national parks quiz explores America's most spectacular protected places, from the geysers of Yellowstone to the depths of Mammoth Cave. You'll answer questions on the biggest and smallest parks, the lowest point in North America, the largest tree on Earth and a lake deeper than most skyscrapers are tall. It's a fun way to plan your next road trip.
National parks have often been called America's best idea, and the system grew in fits and starts. Not every protected place became a park right away. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act, which lets presidents protect important lands as national monuments with a simple proclamation. He used it that September for Devils Tower in Wyoming, the first national monument. National parks, by contrast, require an act of Congress, and many famous parks began life as monuments before being upgraded.
That same year, Congress created Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, the first park set aside mainly to protect the works of people rather than natural scenery. Its cliff dwellings, built by Ancestral Puebloans, broadened the idea of what a park could preserve.
Park trivia is fun because the parks are so different from one another. Deserts, glaciers, volcanoes, caves, forests and city landmarks all fall under the same banner. When a question stumps you, think about the landscape it describes and which region of the country fits it best. Plenty of park facts involve extremes of height, depth, size and temperature, so a feel for American geography will carry you a long way. It might also inspire your next road trip.