Western States

West includes the following States - Alaska, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

National Parks: Joshua Tree National Park -- Twentynine Palms, California -- Joshua Tree National Park is at a biological and geological crossroads. The park straddles the natural boundary where the high, cool Mojave Desert and the low, hot Colorado Desert meet. The park preserves an outstanding collection of rich desert plant life including extensive stands of the iconic Joshua tree. Joshua Tree National Park marks the southern limits of the Joshua tree’s range.
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National Parks: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument -- Kimberly, Oregon -- Within the heavily eroded volcanic deposits of the picturesque John Day River basin of eastern Oregon is a well-preserved and diverse fossil record of plants and animals, including the dawn redwood (Metasequoia), which has been recently designated as the Oregon State Fossil.
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National Parks: Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site -- Deer Lodge, Montana -- The West is full of cowboys. At least, that's an idea commonly held by people from east of the Mississippi to the Middle East. At Grant-Kohrs Ranch in Deer Lodge, Montana, visitors from around the world get a glimpse of the true story of trail drives, roundups and cowboys. The reality is as impressive as the myth. Once the headquarters of a ranch which ranged cattle over ten million acres in four states and Canada, Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS preserves 87 original historic structures and over 35,000 artifacts on fifteen hundred acres.
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National Parks: Grand Teton National Park -- Moose, Wyoming -- Located in northwestern Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park lies in the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem- the largest, intact natural environment outside of Alaska. Adorned with glaciers and snowfields, the Teton Range is unquestionably the park's central feature. As the mountains abruptly rise above the sagebrush valley of Jackson Hole, they create a rugged, picturesque backdrop. Photographed by millions of visitors each year, this world-renowned western scenery also offers opportunities for a variety of recreational pursuits.
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National Parks: Golden Spike National Historic Site -- Brigham City, Utah -- Located in northern Utah, Golden Spike National Historic Site commemorates the building and completion of the nation's first transcontinental railroad.
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National Parks: Fort Laramie National Historic Site -- Fort Laramie, Wyoming -- Fort Laramie was truly the “Crossroads of a Nation Moving West.” Established in 1834 as a small fur trading post, Fort Laramie was purchased by the government in 1849 and rapidly grew to become the largest and most important military post on the Northern Plains.
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National Parks: Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument -- Florissant, Colorado -- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument is located in central Colorado, just west of Pikes Peak. The Monument's 6,000 acres of rolling hills and grassy meadows cover one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. For over 130 years, scientists have searched the layers of fossil-bearing rocks beneath the Florissant valley and have discovered volumes of information about life on earth, 34-35 million years ago.
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National Parks: Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site -- Danville, California -- Eugene Gladstone O'Neill, the only Nobel Prize winning playwright from the United States and the architect of modern American theater, lived at Tao House in the hills above Danville from 1937 to 1944. It was at this site that he wrote his final and most successful plays; "The Iceman Cometh," "Long Days Journey Into Night," and "A Moon For the Misbegotten." Since 1980, the National Park Service has been restoring Tao House, its courtyard and orchards and telling the story of O'Neill, his work and his influence on American theater.
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National Parks: Denali National Park and Preserve -- Denali Park, Alaska -- Denali National Park & Preserve features North America's highest mountain, 20,320-foot tall Mount McKinley. The Alaska Range also includes countless other spectacular mountains and many large glaciers. Denali's more than 6 million acres also encompass a complete sub-arctic eco-system with large mammals such as grizzly bears, wolves, Dall sheep, and moose. The park was established as Mount McKinley National Park on Feb. 26, 1917.
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National Parks: Crater Lake National Park -- Crater Lake, Oregon -- For generations, Crater Lake has been a place of beauty and mystery. In 1902, it became one of America's first national parks. Today half a million people visit the park every year, to gaze in awe at its beauty and wonder at its origin.
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Western States - Pages 1, 2, 3