There is a first time for everything -- every innovation, every event, every development, every activity, every you-name-it. And so it is that the storied history of the National Park System is loaded with firsts. Take this little quiz and see if you can be the first to answer all the questions correctly. Answers are at the end. No peeking!
1. The first unit of the National Park System to have “National Park” as part of its title was
a. Yellowstone National Park
b. Grand Canyon National Park
c. Wind Cave National Park
d. Yosemite National Park
2. The first national park created specifically to preserve the works of humans was
a. Mesa Verde National Park
b. Colonial National Historical Park
c. Independence National Historical Park
d. Roger Williams National Memorial
3. The first national park created entirely from private land and without federal funding was
a. Everglades National Park
b. Shenandoah National Park
c. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
d. Acadia National Park
4. The oldest National Park created east of the Mississippi River is
a. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
b. Acadia National Park
c. Shenandoah National Park
d. Mackinaw Island National Park
5. The first President to establish a national monument by proclamation was
a. Woodrow Wilson
b. Theodore Roosevelt
c. William Howard Taft
d. William McKinley
6. The first national park to have a museum and offer campfire programs was
a. Arches National Park
b. Yellowstone National Park
c. Mesa Verde National Park
d. Grand Canyon National Park
7. Designated in 1984, the first ______ in the National Park System is still the only one.
a. National Battlefield Park
b. International Historic Site
c. National Reserve
d. National Shrine
8. In 1935 the designator ______ was used for the first time to name a unit of the National Park System.
a. National Historic Site
b. National Monument
c. National Parkway
d. National Recreation Area
9. Harry Yount, the first civilian park ranger, assumed his duties at ______ in 1891.
a. Yellowstone National Park
b. Yosemite National Park
c. Sequoia National Park
d. Shiloh National Military Park
10. In ______ an Irish woman by the name of Annie Moore became the first immigrant processed through the immigration/deportation center at Ellis Island, a site now preserved as the Ellis Island National Monument.
a. 1888
b. 1890
c. 1892
d. 1894
Extra credit
11. Yellowstone National Park, which was established in 1872, is generally considered to be the first national park in America and the world. However, some say that _____ earned that distinction because its preservation marked the first time in history that a federal government set aside scenic lands for the main purpose of protecting them and providing public recreational access.
a. Sequoia National Park
b. Glacier National Park
c. Mount Rainier National Park
d. Yosemite National Park
Answers: (1) c (2) a (3) d (4) b (5) b (6) c (7) b (8) a (9) a (10) c (11) d – Yosemite’s claim to being the first national park is generally dismissed because the state of California was responsible for the administration of the park after it was created in 1864 and Yosemite didn’t become a true national park until 1890. Grading: 9 or 10 correct, rest on your laurels; 7 or 8 correct, pretty darn good; 6 correct, passably fair; 5 or fewer correct, nothing to brag about.
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