Why California Has The Most National Parks

California is home to the lowest point in North America and the highest point in the contiguous United States. It has temperate forests and volcanic zones. It also has coastal islands and swaths of deserts. The climate, geography, and terrain of California is so varied that it contains nine national parks, more than any other state. But geography alone is not the only factor behind California's many national parks. Early preservation, beginning with the protection of the Yosemite Valley and conservation efforts from John Muir, helped preserve some of the state's most diverse environments.

Yosemite Grant Act

President Abraham Lincoln helped lay the groundwork for the National Park System. On June 30, 1864, Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant Act, protecting the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove, transferring them to the state of California as the first state park. This signified the first instance of a park being set aside for preservation and public use by action of the federal government.

After Yellowstone became the first national park in 1872, three of the next four parks historically designated as national parks were established in California. Sequoia National Park was established on September 25, 1890, to protect giant sequoia trees from logging. It was the first national park created with the specific purpose of protecting a living organism. A week later, Yosemite and General Grant National Park were established on October 1, 1890. General Grant would later be added to Kings Canyon National Park when it was established in 1940.

The Father of National Parks

John Muir was largely responsible for helping establish national parks in California. John Muir moved to California in 1868 and quickly became enamored with the Yosemite Valley after spending his first summer in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He would go on to become an influential writer, naturalist, and conservationist. He was the first to popularize the idea that Yosemite Valley's distinct formations, like El Capitan and Half Dome, were formed by glaciers.

Muir's writings caught the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt, whom Muir accompanied on a camping trip in Yosemite. After the trip, Roosevelt set aside over 230 million acres of public land (an area larger than Texas), which became five national parks and 18 national monuments. Muir's advocacy was crucial in establishing several national parks, including Sequoia, Mount Rainier, and Grand Canyon National Parks.

California's Geographic Diversity

California sits atop the San Andreas Fault, where the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate grind against one another, creating a giant fracture in the Earth's crust. Channel Islands National Park and Pinnacles National Park are the result of such a broad zone of deformation. Lassen Volcanic National Park, on the other hand, was formed in the last 35 million years when the Juan De Fuca Plate and the Gorda Plate were pulled underneath the North American Plate.

The Pacific Ocean produces different climates across California. A high-pressure area atop the North Pacific pushes storms on the shore, producing between 60 and 80 inches of annual rainfall on temperate forests, like at Redwood National Park. Moisture-laden air from the Pacific is forced upwards when it reaches the Sierra Nevada, cooling before it releases moisture as rain and snow. The Sierra Nevada contains Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet. East of Mount Whitney in the Mojave Desert of eastern California is the lowest point in North America, Death Valley National Park, as well as Joshua Tree National Park.

Which State Comes Close to California?

Alaska only has one fewer national park than California. Approximately two-thirds, or about 222 million acres, of land in Alaska is federally owned or managed. In 1980, Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), which designated over 100 million acres of federal land in Alaska as new or expanded conservation system units. These units included national parks and preserves, national wildlife refuges, designated wilderness areas, and wild and scenic rivers. Alaska's national parks also showcase ecological diversity, including Arctic tundra, coastal landscapes, active volcanoes, and boreal forests. California contains a similar concentration of national protected landscapes within a far smaller area.

California's National Parks

California's nine national parks are the result of both geography and history. Tectonic movement helped shape the Sierra Nevada, while the Pacific Ocean influences weather along the coast. California's combination of geographic diversity and long legacy of conservation has made it the state with the most national parks.