Chelsea Brost
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF STATE AND NATIONAL PARKS?
The value of our state and national parks are completely
priceless. There is no where else in our country that has been
as
unchanged as the wilderness that lies within these parks. Our
history lies within the park borders and if following generations
take care of it, it will never be erased. Every state within our
nation has a forest, canyon, lake, mountain, volcano, glacier or
other beautiful piece of nature that is worth preserving. These
wonderful treasures have been passed down and will continue
to be passed down as an American legacy.
THE KEN BURNS DOCUMENTARY:
THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA
Ken Burns
Dayton
Duncan
Both Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan
knew they needed to express the
importance of state and national parks
to the rest of America. Over a period of
six years, they filmed in some of
natures most spectacular spots in
order to deliver the message.
Appearing on PBS, the documentary
presented a story of people who had
nothing in common, other than the
land they loved and why it needed to
be saved.
HISTORY
•
Each episode of the documentary covers a different time period.
•
Episode 1: 1851-1890 The Scripture of Nature
•
•
•
•
•
•
Episode
1 : 1851
From the discovery of Yosemite, to the first appearance by John Muir, Episode 1 covers the very first
fight and drive for preserving National Parks.
Episode 2: 1890-1915 The Last Refuge
• As the National Parks are established, there are not out of danger. The rush to conquer and tame
the land would become detrimental in keeping the parks idea alive. Episode 2 also shows the role
President Theodore Roosevelt played in the preservation of America
Episode 3: 1915-1919 The Empire of Grandeur
• The untimely death of parks-enthusiast, John Muir, left the country wondering who would lead the
fight for preservation. New-comer Stephen Mather accepted the challenge.
Episode 4: 1920-1933 Going Home
• The park systems begin to incorporate rangers. Battles begin for each individual national park.
Episode 5 1933-1945 Great Nature
• As America entered the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps was created to help the
National Parks thrive.
Episode 6: 1946-1980 The Morning of Creation
• The fight continue for animal preservation in the parks. More and more parks are declared National
Parks!
Episode
2: 1890
Episode
3: 1915
Episode
4: 1920
Episode
5: 1933
Episode
6: 1946
PEOPLE
John Muir, Stephen Mather and Theodore Roosevelt played vital roles in
keeping the park-dream alive. John Muir(April 1838-December 1914) was
known as the father of the National Park System. After his death, Stephen
Mather (July 1867-January 1930) took his place as the leader of the parks
movement. President Theodore Roosevelt (October 1858-January 1919) was
one of the lead supporters of the preservation movement. All three men made
tremendous contributions to the National Park dream, and helped to convince
many Americans that preservation was the only way to save their country.
PARKS
Acadia
Biscayne
Denali
Everglades
Grand Canyon
Although there are over 50 national parks within the
United States, Ken Burn and Dayton Duncan picked 10 of
the most beautiful spots around the country for their
documentary.
Mesa Verde
Yosemite
The Great Smoky
Mountains
Yellowstone
Kenai Fjords
PARKS FIELD TRIP
Along with researching about
the Parks Project, I was also
fortunate enough to attend a
field trip to the Lost Dutchman
State Park. In the short hike
up to Green Rock, I was
amazed at how many felsic
rocks I found, specifically,
Scoria.
Green
Rock
SCORIA
Scoria is a felsic rock with small vesicles or holes all over it’s
surface. Theses holes appear after the rock has been heated to
a liquid or near liquid phase and then rapidly cooled. This
process is most commonly an effect of a volcanic eruption. The
scoria is heated by the volcanic activity and when the volcano
erupts, the scoria is cool extremely fast.
THEREFORE…
Because of the abundance of scoria
found along the trail to the Green Rock,
it is safe to say that it is very possible
The Lost Dutchman State Park is home
to an inactive volcano!
•Mt. Rainier National Park is
named after it’s massive
volcano
•Volcano named after Peter
Rainier in 1972
•Also known by the Native
Americans as Talol, or
Tacoma
Mount Rainier National Park
encompasses 235,625 acres or 368
square miles. 97% of the park has been
designated as Wilderness.
Located southeast of Seattle,
Washington, Mt. Rainier National
park experiences cool and rainy
weather all year round. Because the
park is roughly 14,410 ft. above sea
level, annual snowfall averages at
53.6 ft.
Mt. Rainier National Park is split into
five different regions:
Paradise
Longmire
Sunrise
Ohanapecosh
Carbon River
GEOLOGY OF THE PARK
Although the park is centered around
a massive volcano, there are many
other geological features such as
glaciers, ice caves and springs
GLACIERS-Glaciers are made
up of fallen snow that, over many
years, compresses into large,
thickened ice masses. The Emmons
Glacier is the largest in Mt. Rainier
National Park
ICE CAVES- Ice caves are
similar to other caves other than the
large amount of perennial ice. The
most popular ice caves of Mt. Rainier
are the Paradise Ice Caves.
SPRINGS- Springs form
whenever the water-table intersects
the grounds surface. One of the many
picturesque springs in the park is the
Ohanapecosh River
The most interesting thing about the park is the fact that Mt. Rainier is an extremely active volcano that could erupt at any time. Other
than that danger, the pictures show the park as being near perfection. I hope I have the opportunity to see it’s beauty first hand.
http://www.globeimages.net
/data/media/5/paradise_rive
r_mount_rainier_national_p
ark_washington_us.jpg
http://www.globeimages.net/data/me
dia/5/paradise_river__mount_rainier_
national_park__washington_us.jpg
http://images.fineartamerica
.com/images-mediumlarge/ohanapecosh-riveron-mount-rainier-richleighton.jpg
WHO WAS JOHN MUIR?
John Muir was most accurately described as a very
influential naturalist and conservationist.
•Born in 1838, Muir lived in Scotland until 1849 when his
family moved to New York.
•Leaves home at the age of 22 to exhibit his inventions
•Age 25, Muir takes his first foot journey from the
Wisconsin River to the Mississippi
•1866 Muir becomes invested in Yosemite National Park
in California
THE FATHER OF NATIONAL PARKS
Along with being a wilderness explorer, John
Muir was also a writer. His published work
help to illustrate both the beauty of
Yosemite, Sequoia, Mount Rainier, The
Petrified Forest, and The Grand Canyon
National Parks, and the need to preserve
them. His words inspired Theodore
Roosevelt’s conservation programs. His
work also became the outline for the Sierra
Club. He held the title of Sierra Club
President up until his death.
Picture: John Muir met with Theodore
Roosevelt in Yosemite National Park in 1903
HIS LEGACY
John Muir left behind a beautiful land that we as American s should
strive to preserve. Many National Parks have been explored by John
Muir himself and it’s safe to say he has left his mark. He is the reason
these beautiful pockets of nature accessible to every person living
here.
Nature is always lovely,
invincible, glad, whatever is
done and suffered by her
creatures. All scars she
heals, whether in rocks or
water or sky or hearts.
- John of the Mountains: The
Unpublished Journals of
John Muir, (1938), p. 337.
SUMMARY
As I reflect on the journey that America has taken, I notice
how much has changed; the definition of freedom,
opinions, jobs, money, roles and life in general. But if you
look specifically look at America’s National Parks, you’ll
notice they haven’t really changed. That’s the beauty of the
park system. It’s keeping an original piece of America alive.
Many things will change in the future. As long as Americans
do what they can to protect the parks, the natural beauty
won’t be one of the changes.
WORKS CITED
content/uploads/2013/03/GreatSmokyMountmmons_intro.jpg
ainsNationalPark.jpg
Springs http://www.photographyKen Burns Photo
match.com/views/images/gallery/Ohanapec
http://www.backpacker.com/media/originals/ Mesa Verde
http://www.rockymountainmagazine.com/wp
osh_River_Mt_Rainier_National_Park_Was
ken_burns_445x260.jpg
-content/uploads/2011/04/Mesa-Verdehington.jpg
Dayton Duncan Photo
Interesting pictures:
http://www.florentinefilms.com/fffotos/DD.jp National-Park.jpg
Yellowstone
http://famouswonders.com/wpTop left
g
content/uploads/2009/04/yellowstonehttp://worldislandparadise.com/wpTheodore Roosevelt
national-park.jpg
content/uploads/2010/12/Hidden_Lake_in_
http://troutunlimitedblog.com/wpYosemite
Mount_Rainier_National_Park_Washington.
content/uploads/2012/10/theodorehttps://alpineshop.webconnex.com/uploads/
jpg
roosevelt2.jpg
wysiwyg/1400/images/Yosemite%202.jpg
Top Right
John Muir
http://www.globeimages.net/data/media/5/p
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm Kenai Fjords
http://anha.efellemedia.com/uploads/images
aradise_river_mount_rainier_national_park
ons/f/ff/John_Muir_by_Taber_%26_Boyd,_c
/kenaifjordsnationalpark.jpg
_washington_us.jpg
1880.jpg
Bottom Left
FIELD TRIP
Stephen
http://www.globeimages.net/data/media/5/p
Matherhttp://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_ SCORIA PHOTO
exhibit/people/images/mather.jpg
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/villagers/ aradise_river__mount_rainier_national_par
k__washington_us.jpg
Acadia
hank1/images/scoria.jpg
Bottom Right
http://www.newenglandmagazine.com/wp- LAST SLIDE PHOTO
content/uploads/2011/06/Acadia-National- http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3533/32463195 http://images.fineartamerica.com/imagesmedium-large/ohanapecosh-river-on-mountPark.jpg
90_1cef276ca9.jpg
rainier-rich-leighton.jpg
Biscayne http://www.greendiary.com/wp-
KEN BURNS DOCUMENTARY
NATIONAL PARK
JOHN MUIR
content/uploads/2012/07/biscayne-national- Opening Photo
park_ArMMg_48.jpg
Opening
photo:
http://mrsammy7.files.wordpress.com/2012/
Denali http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eAP-vgjN8- 07/mt-rainier-f.jpg
http://sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/
k/TY_ncmBT5JI/AAAAAAAAAIw/hcP3KLX6 Map http://www.goJohn Muir and TR
MSQ/s1600/0-fondos-escritorio-cataratas- washington.com/media/legacy/WA/images/ http://sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/about
1280.jpg
/
maps/Mount-Rainier-map-small.gif
Everglades
Muir
Map2 http://tri-city.com/Main/http://bioserv.fiu.edu/~ecology/images/Free Images/Washington_State.gif
http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/
GreatPicture.com-19913-everglades2011/10/portrait-john-muir-photo.jpg
Ice caves
national-park39s-mangrove-forests.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lhuBzDDJDXo/S
Grand Canyon
QUAJtx3KeI/AAAAAAAAAEo/oVyhttp://www.usastatestravel.com/images/gra FpkbL_s/s400/ice_cave.jpg
nd.jpg
Glaciers
Great Smoky Mountains
http://www.sverdina.com/images/rainier5/e
http://www.everettpotter.com/wp-