EXPLORE: The natural beauty in the United States remains untouched, awaiting visitation.
By Sophia Santoso, Staff Writer
Modern day Americans have disconnected themselves from the natural world so profoundly that they forget that nature remains as giving as ever. The rise of technology and industry has distanced people from nature, but has not changed their reliance on the natural world. Americans spend their lives absorbed in their never ending schedules, which distracts them from appreciating the beauty of the natural world. In America, there are a total of 58 national parks that are all worth visiting, some of which include Olympic National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Yellowstone National Park.
Olympic National Park gives its visitors the opportunity to explore three distinct ecosystems, including the subalpine forest and wildflower meadow, temperate forest, and Pacific shore. Because of the park’s outstanding scenery, the United Nations has declared Olympic both an international biosphere reserve and a World Heritage site. As an icon of America’s majestic beauty, Yosemite National Park, located in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, is famed for its sequoia trees, waterfalls, and granite cliffs. The early settlers preserved the giant sequoias from logging and they still remain a thriving natural wonder. Among the nature reservations in the United States is Yellowstone National Park, home to hundreds of animal species. Yellowstone is famous for the Old Faithful, a highly predictable geyser. The Olympic, Yosemite, and Yellowstone National Parks are among the few marvels of the beautiful landscape of the United States.
For a handful of days every year, the National Park Service allows anyone in the country to access the wonders within the national parks. In 2019, there are five dates to get into a park for free, including January 21, April 20, August 25, September 28, and November 11th. Although there are only a handful of free days, they are days which people should take advantage of— there’s nothing better than spending a day exploring the bits of natural beauty still remaining in the United States.