On March 1, 1872, a president put his signature on a law setting aside two million acres of geysers and canyons "as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" — and Yellowstone was born. Which president signed it? Abraham Lincoln Ulysses S. Grant Theodore Roosevelt Rutherford B. Hayes None Yellowstone gets the glory as America's first national park — but four decades earlier, in 1832, the federal government had already fenced off another natural wonder for public use, the first time it ever did such a thing. Which spot got protected first? Niagara Falls, New York Mammoth Cave, Kentucky Hot Springs, Arkansas The Natural Bridge, Virginia None Every year one national park blows away all the others in attendance, drawing more visitors than the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone combined — and unlike most big parks, it never charges a dime for entry. Which park is America's most visited? Grand Canyon Yosemite Zion Great Smoky Mountains None America's largest national park is so enormous that the National Park Service describes its size with a comparison that sounds made up: it's as big as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the entire country of Switzerland — combined. Which park is it? Yellowstone, Wyoming Everglades, Florida Wrangell–St. Elias, Alaska Big Bend, Texas None North America's tallest mountain — 20,310 feet of rock and ice in Alaska — was named Mount McKinley in 1896, in honor of William McKinley. What was McKinley's personal connection to the great peak? He climbed partway up it as a young Army officer He owned a gold claim at its base He championed the law protecting it None — he never set foot in Alaska None Stumper. When Congress created the National Park Service in 1916, it handed the job of first director to Stephen Mather — a self-made millionaire so devoted to the parks that he paid rangers' salaries and even bought a Yosemite mountain road out of his own pocket. What product made Mather his fortune? Railroad sleeping cars Borax soap Canned salmon Kodak cameras None Time's up
