National park

A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. Often it is a reserve of natural,
semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual
nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation
of wild nature for posterity and as a symbol of national pride.
[1]
Furthermore, an international
organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World
Commission on Protected Areas, has defined "National Park" as its Category II type of protected
areas. While ideas for this type of national park had been suggested previously, the United States
established the first such one, Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. The largest national park in
the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park, which was
established in 1974. According to the IUCN, there were 6,555 national parks worldwide in 2006
that meet its criteria. IUCN is still discussing the parameters of defining a national park.
[2]

National parks are almost always open to visitors. Most national parks provide outdoor
recreation and camping opportunities as well as classes designed to educate the public on the
importance of conservation and the natural wonders of the land in which the national park is
located.