Badlands National Park

The US has got some 64 designated national parks. These parks are home to more than 60% of the nation's endangered species, and represent some of the best remaining habitat for the country's wildlife heritage. They are also seen as "touchstones of shared history and culture." Visitors can opt for fragile coral reefs to complex wetlands while some of the most fascinating national parks are found underwater.

The Badlands National Park, located in southwestern South Dakota, is home to the black-footed ferret, the endangered land mammal in North America. The park, which covers 64,000 sq km, consists of 244,000 acres of buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the mixed grass prairie. The Park contains the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, which are 23 to 35 million years old. "I was totally unprepared for that revelation called the Dakota Bad Lands," said Frank Lloyd Wright.

Popular Features:

El Capitan is a prominent granite cliff that looms over the valley and is one of the most popular world destinations for rock climbers.

Meadows: The high country of Yosemite contains beautiful areas like Tuolumne Meadows, Dana Meadows, the Clark Range, the Cathedral Range, and the Kuna Crest.

Trails: The Sierra crest and the Pacific Crest Trail run through Yosemite, with peaks of red metamorphic rock, such as Mount Dana and Mount Gibbs, and granite peaks, such as Mount Conness.

Groves: The Park has three groves of Giant Sequoia trees, the Mariposa Grove, Tuolumne Grove, and the Merced Grove.

Habitats: The Park supports over 250 species of vertebrates, which include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The western part of the park is dominated by mixed coniferous forests of Ponderosa Pine, Sugar Pine, Incense-cedar, White Fir, and Douglas Fir, and a few stands of Giant Sequoia, interspersed by areas of Black Oak and Canyon Live Oak.

Species: Wildlife species typically found in these habitats include Black Bear, Bobcat, Gray Fox, Mule Deer, Mountain Kingsnake, Gilbert's Skink, White-headed Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Spotted Owl, and a wide variety of bat species. In the case of bats, large snags are important as roost sites.

Other than multiple tours, the park authorities also run a Yosemite Mountaineering School and Guide Service. Here you can learn cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, climbing, hiking and back-packing.