View source for National park

[[File:Ніжний ранковий світло.jpg|thumb|right|250px|National park "Sviati Hory" (Holy Mountains), [[Donetsk Oblast]], [[Ukraine]]]]
[[File:Peyto-lake-banff.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Banff National Park]], [[Alberta]], [[Canada]]]]
[[File:Parque Nacional Los cardones.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Los Cardones National Park]], [[Argentina]]]]
[[File:KavirNP Iran L7 aug00sep01.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Landsat]] 7 image of [[Kavir National Park]], [[Iran]]]]
[[File:TeideN1.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Teide National Park]], [[Spain]]]]
[[File:MountFuji-MOE.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park]], [[Japan]]]]

A '''national park''' is a [[park]] or an area of land officially recognized and protected by a [[nation]]'s [[government]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=national-park noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes {{!}} Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com|url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/national-park?q=national+park|access-date=2020-08-16|website=www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com}}</ref> National parks are often made to protect the [[animal]]s that live inside them or the land itself.  There are many National Parks in the world.

The first one established (in 1872) was the United States [[Yellowstone National Park]]. It was the first national park in the world.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=THIS IS AMERICA — National Park System - 2003-08-26|url=https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-23-a-2003-08-26-1-1-83114432/121015.html|access-date=2020-08-18|website=VOA|language=en}}</ref> But the idea of protecting areas from human development was proposed years earlier. American painter George Catlin offered the idea during the 1830s.<ref name=":0" /> 

An international organization, the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined National Parks as its category II type of protected areas. The largest national [[park]] in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the [[Northeast Greenland National Park]], which was established in 1974. According to the IUCN, there are about 7000 national parks worldwide (2010 figure).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/2006_feb_3 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-10-11 |archive-date=2008-07-28 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080728173356/http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/2006_feb_3 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Definitions==
In 1969 the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) declared a national park to be a relatively large area with:<ref>Gulez, Sumer (1992). A method of evaluating areas for national park status.</ref>  

*with one or more [[ecosystem]]s (or ecological system) not much altered by humans. It should have plant and animal species, [[geology]] sites and [[habitat]]s. These should be of special scientific, educative and recreative interest, or contain a natural landscape of great beauty.
*the country has taken steps to prevent or eliminate exploitation or occupation in the area. They must enforce respect for its [[Ecology|ecological]], [[Geomorphology|geomorphological]] or [[aesthetic]] features.
*visitors are allowed to enter, under special conditions, for inspirational, educative, cultural and recreative purposes.
*a minimum size of 1,000 hectares within zones where nature is protected
*statutory (or legal) protection
*a budget and staff to provide sufficient effective protection
*no business use of natural resources (including the development of [[dam]]s) except such activities as sport, fishing, the need for management, facilities, etc.

While national parks are generally understood to be administered by national governments (hence the name), in [[Australia]] national parks are run by State Governments and predate the [[Federation of Australia]]. Also in Japan, some of them called "Quasi-national Parks" (国定公園) are recognized by the government and managed by local governments.<ref>{{Cite web|title=List of National and Quasi-national Parks [MOE]|url=https://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/parks_list.html|access-date=2020-08-16|website=www.env.go.jp}}</ref>

== Examples ==
*[[Manú National Park]], [[Peru]]
*[[Everglades]], [[Florida]]
*[[Hawaii Volcanoes National Park]]
*[[Yosemite National Park]], [[California]]
*[[Grand Canyon]], [[Colorado River]], [[Arizona]]
*[[Yellowstone National Park]], [[United States]]
*[[Great Barrier Reef]], [[Queensland]], [[Australia]]
*[[Dartmoor]], [[Devon]], [[England]]
*[[Galapagos]] National Park, [[Ecuador]]
*[[Teide National Park]], [[Spain]]

== Other websites ==
{{commonscat|National parks}}

* [http://www.unesco.org/mab/ UNESCO — Man and the Biosphere Programme (Biosphere Reserves)]
* [http://whc.unesco.org/ World Heritage Sites]
* [http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/wdbpa/ UN Protected Areas database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018020137/http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/wdbpa/ |date=2007-10-18 }}
* [http://www.europarc.org/ EUROPARC federation — Europe's protected areas]
* [http://www.nps.gov/index.htm United States National Park Service]
* [https://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/index.html National Parks of Japan by Ministry of the Environment,  Japan]
* [http://www.knps.or.kr South Korea- Korea National Park Service]
* [http://nationalparks.wikia.com/wiki/European_National_Parks_Centre European National Parks Centre (ENPC)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614162528/http://nationalparks.wikia.com/wiki/European_National_Parks_Centre |date=2007-06-14 }}
* [http://www.teddyroosevelt.com  TeddyRoosevelt.com:  "The National Parks President"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501200959/http://www.teddyroosevelt.com/ |date=2021-05-01 }}

== References ==
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[[Category:National parks| ]]