Category: National Park Field Guide

Manu National Park

Manu National Park is one of the most biologically extraordinary protected areas on Earth. Stretching from the high Andes into the lowland Amazon of southeastern Peru, the park encompasses cloud forests, mountain grasslands, river valleys, wetlands, and vast expanses of tropical rainforest. Few protected areas contain such a dramatic range of elevations and habitats within …

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Kosciuszko National Park

Kosciuszko National Park protects the highest mountains in Australia, sweeping alpine grasslands, glacial lakes, snow gum forests, limestone caves, rivers, historic mountain huts, and some of the country’s rarest wildlife. Covering about 690,000 hectares in southeastern New South Wales, it is the largest national park in the state and the centerpiece of Australia’s Snowy Mountains. …

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General Sherman Tree: The World’s Largest Tree by Volume

The General Sherman Tree is not the tallest tree on Earth, nor is it the widest. Its claim to fame is even more remarkable: General Sherman is the largest known living single-stem tree in the world when measured by trunk volume. Standing in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park, General Sherman rises nearly 275 …

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National Park Packing List: Essential Gear & Checklist for Every Trip

Packing for a national park trip is different from packing for an ordinary vacation. You may spend the morning driving between overlooks, the afternoon hiking several miles from the nearest road, and the evening dealing with a sudden thunderstorm, falling temperatures, strong wind, or an unexpectedly long drive back to your lodging. The right packing …

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How Deep Is Carlsbad Caverns? Depth, Size & Cave Measurements

Carlsbad Caverns is enormous, but describing exactly how enormous is more complicated than giving a single number. Carlsbad Caverns National Park protects around 120 known caves beneath the Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico. The cave most visitors explore—Carlsbad Cavern—contains more than 30 miles of surveyed passages and reaches approximately 1,034 feet below its highest …

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