Kids project --National Park

A national park is a large area of land where the natural land scape, plants and animals are protected. National parks may be created for leisure activities or for historical or scientific interest. Many countries have national parks, especially Brazil, Japan, Africa, India the U.S. and Australia. The first national park was Yellowstone in the northwestern U.S. It was founded in 1872.

Hot Springs

Yellowstone is the largest national park in the U.S. and is famous for its hot springs. There are also lakes and waterfalls, and ancient forests that have petrified or turned to stone. A huge variety of animals live in Yellowstone, which stretches for 8,992 sq.km across 3 U.S. states. The Yellowstone has about 250 active geysers or gushing hot springs.

Amazing Facts

*The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is world’s largest marine national park at 207,000 sq. km.*

Sacred Rock

Uluru- Kata Tjuta is Australia's most famous national park. It became a national park in 1987. Uluru or Ayers Rock is sacred to the Aborigines, the native people of Australia, who own it. They believe that Uluru was formed from a large, flat sandhill at the time the Earth was created. Thousands of tourists visit the park each year.

Waterfall Border

Iguazu, a huge waterfall, crashes over the cliff that forms part of the Argentina-Brazil border. Both countries have created national parks around Iguazu, covering 2,396 sq km of rain forest. These parks protect animals, insects and pants that live and grow in the area.

Protecting Wild Life

People visit Amboseli National Park in the southern Kenya to watch the wildlife and to look at Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 m. Visitors are asked to keep to the roads, because vehicles can easily damage the plants and trees on which the animals feed. Giraffe, gazelles, zebras and lions are common in Amboseli.