National Parks Trivia Quiz – Names, Facts and Surprises

This national parks trivia quiz starts in Yellowstone, the world's first national park, and travels to Yosemite's granite walls, the Everglades and Denali. Ten questions test what you know about America's wild places.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

History
Which was the first national park in the world, created in 1872?
Landmarks
Old Faithful geyser is found in which national park?
Landmarks
El Capitan and Half Dome are famous granite formations in which park?
Wildlife
Which national park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States?
Visitors
Which national park usually receives the most visitors each year?
Size
What is the largest national park in the United States?
Landmarks
Which park protects the giant sequoia known as General Sherman?
Geology
Which Utah national park has more than 2,000 natural stone arches?
History
Which agency, created in 1916, manages US national parks?
Extremes
Which national park holds the record for the hottest air temperature measured on Earth?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which was the first national park in the world, created in 1872?
Answer: Yellowstone
President Ulysses S. Grant signed the law creating Yellowstone in 1872. Most of the park lies in Wyoming, with parts in Montana and Idaho.
Q2: Old Faithful geyser is found in which national park?
Answer: Yellowstone
Old Faithful erupts roughly every 60 to 110 minutes. Yellowstone holds about half of the world's active geysers.
Q3: El Capitan and Half Dome are famous granite formations in which park?
Answer: Yosemite
El Capitan rises about 900 meters above the Yosemite Valley floor and is one of the most famous big-wall climbing routes on Earth.
Q4: Which national park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States?
Answer: Everglades
The Everglades in Florida protects slow-moving wetlands where American alligators and American crocodiles live side by side.
Q5: Which national park usually receives the most visitors each year?
Answer: Great Smoky Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains, on the Tennessee and North Carolina border, has no entrance fee and lies within a day's drive of millions of people.
Q6: What is the largest national park in the United States?
Answer: Wrangell-St. Elias
Wrangell-St. Elias in Alaska covers about 53,000 square kilometers, roughly the size of Switzerland, and contains nine of the 16 highest US peaks.
Q7: Which park protects the giant sequoia known as General Sherman?
Answer: Sequoia
General Sherman is the largest living single-stem tree by volume. It stands about 84 meters tall in Sequoia National Park, California.
Q8: Which Utah national park has more than 2,000 natural stone arches?
Answer: Arches
Arches National Park near Moab has the highest density of natural sandstone arches in the world, including the famous Delicate Arch.
Q9: Which agency, created in 1916, manages US national parks?
Answer: National Park Service
President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service on August 25, 1916. Rangers are its best-known staff.
Q10: Which national park holds the record for the hottest air temperature measured on Earth?
Answer: Death Valley
Furnace Creek in Death Valley recorded 56.7 degrees Celsius in July 1913, still the official world record for air temperature.

National Parks Trivia Quiz – From Yellowstone to the Everglades

The United States has 63 national parks, from Acadia on the coast of Maine to the volcanoes of Hawaii and the glaciers of Alaska. Each was created by an act of Congress to protect landscapes, wildlife or geological wonders for future generations.

Parks vary enormously. Gateway Arch in St. Louis covers less than 1 square kilometer, while Wrangell-St. Elias is bigger than some countries. California has the most parks of any state, with nine, including Yosemite, Death Valley and Joshua Tree.

What This Quiz Teaches

Good preparation for a road trip, a school project or a park ranger tour, this quiz helps you remember which wonder belongs to which park.

Why Yellowstone is called the first national park
Where Old Faithful and El Capitan are
Which park is the largest and which is busiest
Where the hottest temperature was recorded
Who manages the parks and since when

Did You Know?

The idea of a national park inspired similar parks in more than 100 countries.
Mammoth Cave in Kentucky protects the longest known cave system in the world, over 680 kilometers.
New River Gorge in West Virginia became a national park in 2020.
Many parks offer free entry on a few special days each year.
Junior Ranger programs let children earn badges in nearly every park.