You are here

Home » National Parks Traveler

Climate Change Doomed the Historic Settlements at Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument

The ruins at Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument do more than just remind us of Spain’s shattered dreams of empire in the American Southwest. They also remind us that climate change is an old phenomenon that has powerfully influenced human well-being through the centuries.

Thanks to the California Desert Protection Act, Death Valley National Park is the Biggest Park in the Coterminous U.S.

On October 31, 1994, the California Desert Protection Act redesignated Death Valley from National Monument to National Park and added 1.3 million acres to the new National Park’s holdings. In one fell swoop, Congress had transferred bragging rights for “biggest park in the 48-state U.S.” from Yellowstone to Death Valley.

Take the Interstate to One of the Largest Units in the National Park System

Most people making the drive between Las Vegas and Los Angeles are in a hurry to just get across the desert. As a result, they miss an easy opportunity to visit the third largest unit in our national park system outside of Alaska. Even more surprising, given the size and rugged nature of this park, is the fact that it's bordered by not one, but two Interstate highways: I-15 and I-40.

Updated: Bush Administration: "A Legacy of Failure for Our Public Lands," Claims Congressman Grijalva

During the past eight years the Bush administration has "pushed a concerted strategy of reducing the protections for our public lands, parks, and forests, and opening up these lands for every type of private, commercial and extractive industry possible." So says Congressman Raul Grijalva.
Image icon Grijalva_Public_Lands_Report.pdf

It Breathes

The first white man to see Wind Cave was a cowboy who found the entrance when a puff of air from the cave blew off his hat. Scientists have measured gusts in excess of 70 mph coming out of the cave’s mouth. Wind Cave is a barometric cave. It blows in or out depending on the atmospheric pressure. In other words, it breathes.