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Wildfire Smoke In A National Park Affects More Than Just Landscape Visibility

National parks in one state are subject to wildfire smoke wafting in from other states on fire. This smelly, thick haze affects more than just one's ability to view the scenery. It also impacts human health along with the health of wildlife and plant life. But how? After a recent trip into Mount Rainier National Park, where smoke from wildfires in California and Oregon hid much of the landscape, turned the sky and atmosphere a dirty yellow, and smelled strongly of burning wood, photographer Rebecca Latson tried to find some answers to her questions.

Mangrove Trees -- Nature's Hurricane Barriers -- Could Be Gone By 2050 Due To Sea Level Rise

Mangrove trees serve as nature's hurricane barriers for places such as Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park, Virgin Islands National Park, and Big Cypress National Preserve. Plus, they provide valuable habitat for fish and other marine life, and are pretty cool for humans who are fortunate enough to paddle through them. But they could be gone by 2050, victims of sea level rise driven by climate change.

"It Looked Like Molten Lava. Except It Was Molten Ice."

"My first impression was that it looked like molten lava. Except it was molten ice. It had that same kind if pyroclastic flow to it," recalled Peter Christian of the day back in 2016 when he flew over a remote corner of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve and saw a slurry of ice coursing rapidly downhill through a barren drainage.

Traveler Special Report: Climate Change At Glen Canyon NRA

Water is big business, bigger in the Southwest than perhaps anywhere else in the United States, and so where the Colorado River flows, economics and politics closely follow. More than 40 million people downstream depend upon its waters for agriculture, cities and businesses. At Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Utah and northern Arizona, that reality rises in the 710-foot tall Glen Canyon Dam and shimmers in the lake that it has formed, Lake Powell.

Traveler Special Report: As Goes The Colorado River, So Go The Parks

A warming climate has been linked to human activity around the world, and has affected the Colorado River System as well. The impacts are substantial, from reduced water flows, threats to indigenous species and the influx of new invasive species along the river system. National Parks Traveler sent Patrick Cone to investigate the impacts on Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. From Moab to Green River, Utah, and Page to Flagstaff Arizona he talked to Park Service personnel, river runners, residents, business owners and other stakeholders who rely on a healthy Colorado River for their existence

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