National Park Vignettes, Acadia to Death Valley

When you have The Essential Geography at your disposal, you can do more than reference locations. Because The Essential Geography's is carefully curated and uniquely easy to read, you can see geographic relationships that turn each location into a unique and memorable place.
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National Park Vignettes provide examples of the types of geographic information you will enjoy discovering on The Essential Geography of the USA.

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The main body of Acadia National Park lies on Mt Desert Island, which climbs from the Gulf of Maine to a 1530’ summit. Adjacent to the park, the town of Bar Harbor enjoys ferry service across the gulf to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
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Featuring Delicate Arch, Arches National Park lies in an unforested part of Eastern Utah, just up the Colorado River from Canyonlands National Park, and Moab, elev. 4000 ft. To the SE, Utah's second highest landform, the Las Sal Mtns, rise to 12,721 ft.

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Badlands National Park lies just off I-90 near the Black Hills of South Dakota, on the northern edge of Pine Ridge Reservation, between the Cheyenne and White Rivers.

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In the wide-open terrain of the Chihuahuan Desert, on the United States side of the border with Mexico, Big Bend National Park rises more than 5000 ft* from the Rio Grande to the summit of the Chisos Mtns. North of the park; Marfa, Fort Davis, Alpine and Marathon are the highest elevation towns in the state, and the Davis Mtns, home of the McDonald Observatory, ascend to over 8000 ft.

*Judging from the elevations of the Rio Grande towns of Presidio and Boquillas del Carmen, we can infer the 7,825 ft Chisos Mtns rise more than 5,000 ft above the Rio Grande.

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Just outside Miami, Biscayne National Park protects much of Biscayne Bay, and associated keys.

 

Near Montrose, elev. 5807 ft, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado lies in a transition zone where the Colorado Plateau merges with the Rocky Mountains. With “plateau” in its name, we know the nearby Uncompahgre Plateau is a feature of the Colorado Plateau, rather than the Rockies.

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With Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument to the SW, and Zion National Park not far to the west, you can bet there are lots of geologic wonders to see in and around Bryce Canyon National Park. Arising just inside the park, the Sevier River drains to Sevier Lake, a Great Basin playa. (West of the ridgetop access road, Bryce Canyon NP is in the Great Basin. East of the road, the park is part of the Colorado Plateau.)
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Located at the confluence of two great rivers, the Colorado and the Green, Canyonlands National Park is part of Southern Utah's large complex of parks and monuments. Just up the Colorado, we find Arches National Park, and the town of Moab, elev. 4000 ft. Down the Colorado, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area encompasses the waters of Lake Powell. Draped in forest, the 11,360 ft Abajo Mtns lie to the SE.

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An array of National Parks and Monuments bears witness to the unique beauty of Southern Utah; and Capitol Reef National Park sits right in the middle, bookended by 11,000 ft mountains.

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In upland desert terrain near to the Pecos River town of Carlsbad, New Mexico, elev. 3111 ft, and just off US Hwy 62/180, Carlsbad Caverns National Park nearly touches Guadalupe Mountains National Park, just over the state line in Texas.

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Separated from the California mainland by the Santa Barbara Channel, Channel Islands National Park protects the northern-most islands of a broader archipelago. In the park, elevations vary from sea level to 2470 ft, on Santa Cruz Island. Ferry service is available.

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Just SE of South Carolina capital, Columbia, Congaree National Park lies where the Piedmont transitions into the flatter and less-populated Coastal Plain.

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On the crest of the Cascade Range, in a green and mountainous corner of Oregon, Crater Lake National Park holds the headwaters of the Rogue River, and a section of the Pacific Crest Trail. Crater Lake, the central feature of the park, sits more than 6000 ft higher in elevation than the Pacific Ocean, to the west (116 miles).

Mt Thielsen and Mt McLoughlin add to the nearby mountain geography, while Upper Klamath Lake dominates the lowlands to the south and a little east. You can be sure that travelers often times combine a visit to Crater Lake with an evening at the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, itself tucked into mountainous terrain.

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Cuyahoga Valley National Park tucks into a forested river valley in the urban region south of Cleveland.

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The east face of Death Valley National Park's Panamint Range, with a summit that’s 11,311 ft higher (and 50°F cooler) than Badwater, a few miles away, is the highest escarpment in the US.