Beautiful Parks of the World

NEW ZEALAND

Fiordland National Park, the largest in New Zealand, was created in 1904. It features a spectacular seacoast, high mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, forests, and glaciers. Discovered here in 1948 was the flightless takahe, which was thought to be extinct.

KENYA

Nairobi National Park is situated at the gate of the nation’s capital, only a few minutes’ drive from Nairobi’s city center. It offers views of buffalo, zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, ostriches, rhinoceroses, and sleeping lions, which are undisturbed by the presence of visitors.

U.S.A./​CANADA

Waterton Lakes National Park, where prairies meet the mountains, was established in 1895, and Glacier National Park in 1910. Upon the urging of many, these two parks were united in 1932 as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the first of its type. The parks contain spectacular scenery, situated as they are astride the Continental Divide. Grizzly bears, black bears, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, moose, and cougars make this frontier park their home, along with mule deer, white-tailed deer, and elks.

BRAZIL/​ARGENTINA

Iguaçú National Park is, in fact, two parks; the Argentinean park was created in 1909, and the adjoining Brazilian park in 1939. The world-famous Iguaçú Falls are higher than Niagara Falls and wider than Africa’s Victoria Falls. Here also is some of the most luxuriant, beautiful vegetation found anywhere in the world.

JAPAN

Nikko National Park embraces a large area of lakes, waterfalls, plateaus, and mountains and is typical of the Japanese landscape. It is the home of the protected Japanese serow, or goat antelope. Other animals in the park are the Japanese black bear and the Japanese macaque, or short-tailed monkey.