Mount Rainier was the fifth National Park to be formed in the USA, the mountain is in fact a volcano and is best known for the glaciers that radiate from its summit, 26 are named and together these form the greatest single glacier system in the USA.

Mount Rainier is circled by the Wonderland Trail and is covered by several glaciers and snowfields totaling some 35 square miles.

The lower areas of the park are covered with old growth forests of cedar, fir and pine. Over two million visitors each year come to this park for hiking, camping and cross country … Continue Reading

The Saguaro cactus is the state symbol of Arizona. Named as a national park in 1994 it contains large tracts of land and giant Cacti. Facilities in the park include 150 miles of well marked and maintained hiking trails, and shorter walking trails with interpretative information available. Hiking is not advisable during the hot summer months

Saguaro National Park is divided between the Rincon Mountain district and the Tucson Mountain district to the West.

The Rincon Mountain District is located at the eastern edge of Tucson, Arizona; the east side of the park was the original National Monument. What is unique … Continue Reading

The Cascade range streches from British Columbia to Northern California. They are part of the Rim of Fire which includes Mount Rainier the highest and Mount St Helens the best known. Mount St Helens erupted in 1980.

Because of the range’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean, precipitation is substantial, especially on the western slopes, with annual accumulations of up to 150 inches in some areas—Mount Baker, for instance, recorded the largest single-season snowfall on record in the world in 1999—and heavy snowfall as low as 2,000 feet.

The Cascades inlcude many national monuments, forests and wilderness areas. Several … Continue Reading

The Mohave Desert is one of the USAs most popular tourist areas. It contains Death Valley and the Grand Canyon. Due to the surrounding mountains the desert is in rainshadow and receives less than 6 inches of rain.

The Mojave is a desert of temperature extremes and four distinct seasons. Winter months bring temperatures dipping to below -7 °C on valley floors, and below -18 °C at higher elevations. Storms moving from the Pacific Northwest can bring rain and snow across the region — more often, the rain shadow created by the Sierra Nevada as well as mountain ranges … Continue Reading

The Olympic Peninsula protrudes into the Pacific Ocean at the far north western tip of Washington State, it became a World Heritage Site in 1981.

The coastal portion of the park is a rugged, sandy beach along with a strip of adjacent forest. It is 73 miles long but just a few miles wide, with native communities at the mouths two of rivers. The most popular piece of the coastal strip is the 9-mile Ozette Loop. The Park Service runs a registration and reservation program to control usage levels of this area. From the trailhead at Lake Ozette, a 3-mile … Continue Reading

To the North East of New York City on the side of the Catskill Mountains, lie the finger lakes. The area is a fertile, beautiful region of farmland and vineyards intersected by lakes that drain down to North Ontario.

The Finger Lakes region is a central part of the Iroquois homeland. The Iroquois tribes include the Seneca and Cayuga tribes, for which the two largest Finger Lakes are named. The Tuscarora tribe lived in the Finger Lakes region as well. The Onondaga and Oneida tribes lived at the eastern edge of the region, closer to their namesake lakes, Lake Oneida … Continue Reading

The Blue Ridge Mountains form the Eastern end of the Appalchians, they are made of ancient granite dating back from 1.2 billion years ago. The landscape is stunning, made up of endless vistas of forested mountains.

Trees put the “blue” in Blue Ridge, from the hydrocarbons released into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color.

Although the term “Blue Ridge” is sometimes applied exclusively to the eastern edge or front range of the Appalachian Mountains, the geological definition of the Blue Ridge province extends westward to the Ridge and Valley area, encompassing the … Continue Reading

Diamond head is Oahu’s best known volcano. Located near to Waikiki its an extinct volcano that has been for 150,000 or more years. Its English name was given by British sailors in the 19th century, who mistook calcite crystals embedded in the rock for diamonds.

Diamond Head is part of the complex of cones, vents, and their associated eruption flows that are collectively known to geologists as the Honolulu Volcanic Series, eruptions from the Koʻolau Volcano that took place long after the volcano formed and had gone dormant. The Honolulu Volcanic Series is a series of volcanic eruption … Continue Reading

The Alaska Peninsula National refugs was setup in 1980 to conserve wildlife. The refuge contains active volcanos and sustained humans for 10,000 years.

The Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Alaska whose use is regulated as an ecological-protection measure. It stretches along the southern coast of the Alaska Peninsula, between the Becharof National Wildlife Refuge on its east and the end of the peninsula at False Pass in the west. In between, however, it is broken into sections by lands of the Aniakchak National Monument and Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

Bristlecone pines are one of the oldest organisms known to man. These pines are found in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest part of the Inyo National Forest in the White Mountains.

The oldest tree, nicknamed “Methuselah”, is more than 4,750 years old, and is not marked to ensure added protection from vandals