Views from the Digital Collections: America's National Parks
Beginning with the designation of the first national park, Yellowstone, in 1872 there are now 63 national parks across the United States. They contain many natural wonders, awe-inspiring landscapes, and important cultural artifacts as well as representing an ideal of preserving the land for the future. It's no wonder that visiting one or more of them is on many bucket lists and the parks swell with visitors in the summer months.
NYPL's Digital Collections contain hundreds of vintage images from the National Parks and we're offering you a three-minute "vacation" to view them below. Enjoy!
Looking down upon Ayer's Peak, a mountain 600 feet high in the Grand Canyon 1902-03.
Photo by Underwood & Underwood. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: G88F105_001F
Lassen Peak eruption [Lassen Volcanic National Park]
Photo by Benjamin Loomis. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 1629289
View Across the Sierras From Yosemite National Park
Photo by Ewing Galloway. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 101836
Buffalo herd near Fort Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 68037
Badlands National Park extension, South Dakota, 1936.
Photo by Arthur Rothstein. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 58301237
Dry and parched earth in the badlands of South Dakota, 1936.
Photo by Arthur Rothstein. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 58251337
Lake Josephine in Glacier National Park, Montana.
Photo by Fred H. Kiser. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 1629955
Temple of Sinawava, Zion National Park
Photo by Ewing Galloway. NYPL Digital Collections, Image ID: 101861
There are more than 900,000 images in our Digital Collections—what will you find?
Related reading: A National Parks Reading List