National Parks: Yellowstone/ Grand Canyon/ Yosemite

As Seen On American Public Television!

Yellowstone:
Yellowstone: first national park in the world and one of its greatest wildlife preserves.This immense forest sprawls across 2.2 million acres of land that features erupting geysers, thundering waterfalls, gurgling hot springs and incredibly diverse wildlife.A grizzly bear chases an elk in a life or death pursuit.An antelope doe chases a coyote away from her young.Bighorn sheep butt heads in angry combat.We also see the great fire of 1988, and how devastation gave way to new growth.

Go on a guided tour with park rangers into the back country, or take a fun stagecoach ride to an early-morning cookout.Most of all, absorb the wondrous natural beauty that exists so abundantly in one of our most popular national parks.

Grand Canyon:
The Grand Canyon in Arizona is truly one of the world's great natural wonders; it encompasses 2,000 square miles, reaches a mile down into the earth and spreads ten miles across.Few geological formations evoke such an intense emotional response.This great chasm not only awes our senses, it harbors a multitude of wildlife: mule deer, mountain lions, coyotes, bighorn sheep, wild turkey, blue heron and desert tortoises .The Grand Canyon is also home to the kaibab squirrel, found nowhere else on the planet.

More than 2,000 years ago, the Anasazi Indians lived in this region.Our program includes an exclusive segment on Shaman's Gallery, where many Anasazi rock paintings have been preserved.

Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the Grand Canyon a national park in 1908, saying "do nothing to mar its grandeur, keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you."

Yosemite:
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant in 1864, making it a California state park.Decades later, it became a national park, made famous by the writings of publisher Horace Greeley and the efforts of naturalist John Muir.More recently, the images of Yosemite have been popularized by the photography of Ansel Adams.

The sheer magnificence of Yosemite National Park is expressed in a host of natural wonders:El Capitan and Half-Dome mountains, Yosemite and Bridalveil Falls, the high sierra country that includes Toulumne Meadows and Tioga Pass, and the majestic giant sequoia trees at Mariposa Grove.

Our program also captures many images of the diverse wildlife that roams the vast 1,170 square emiles of Yosemite National Park: mule deer, mountain lions, black bears, coyotes, bighorn sheep and the rare peregrine falcon.With all these natural riches, it is small wonder that Yosemite continues to thrive as one of America's most popular national parks.