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Show VAST LABORATORY National Monuments Protect Scientific, Historic Features WNV Features. Several months ago National Park service received an urgent appeal from a small boy. "Send me some information," informa-tion," he wrote, "my class is studying about it." One might assume that the little boy was revealing an overconfidence in the ability of National Park service to "come across." Actually, the youngster was not too far out of line. The 171 areas that maice up tne naxionai park system of the United States cut a wide swath across the total of natural and human phenomena. Throughout the entire country there is a genuine thirst for knowl-edge knowl-edge and I from 500 to National Parks 1,500 requests Eleventh for inlormV In a Series ceived daily in the central office of National Na-tional Park service. These requests come not only from school children, but also from mature men and women. Many more thousands of people go directly to the national ! parks, monuments and historic sites to seek first hand for the answers to their questions. The national park system serves as a vast laboratory for the study of North American biology, bi-ology, geology, paleontology, history and pre-history. The great national parkst such as Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosem-ite Yosem-ite and Grand Canyon, were established es-tablished primarily for the protection pro-tection of magnificent scenery, but each of these parks also contains con-tains a houndlcss varioJj- of nai-ural nai-ural phenomena. The national monuments, on the other hand, have been created usually to protect a single scientific or historic his-toric feature an extinct volcano, vol-cano, an ancient Indian ruin or an early American fortification. It often has been said that a national na-tional park covers a large area, while a national monument is small. This is not true. Many national monuments contain only a few acres each, but there are a number num-ber of geological exhibits in the national na-tional park system of such vast .proportions that areas of considerable consider-able extent are required for their protection. THE TWO LARGEST areas In the national park system are national monuments. These are Katmai and Glacier Bay in Alaska. Katmai national monument containing 4,215 square miles, is a volcanic region, the scene7 of a violent eruption in 1912 which resulted in creation of the Valley of the Ten Thousand Smokes. Glacier Bay national monument, mon-ument, covering 3,589 square miles of territory, embraces several huge glaciers and a bay choked with icebergs. ice-bergs. Largest national monument in the United States proper is Death Valley, covering 2,891 square miles of desert and mountains. Here is located the lowest point in the country, 280 feet below the level of the sea. Katmai and Glacier Bay national monuments are undeveloped and re-. re-. quire much preparation and planning' plan-ning' on the part of the visitor before be-fore he can explore them, but Death Valley, in California, so forbidding to the early immigrant, now can be visited in comfort and safety by the motorist. Death Valley, however, how-ever, is extremely hot in the summer sum-mer and the best seasons there are late fall, winter and early spring. THE FIRST national monument was Devil's Tower in northeastern Wyoming, established by proclamation proclama-tion of Pres. Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. This is an 865-foot column of volcanic rock, which stands high above the surrounding country and may; be seen for many miles. Muir Woods national monument in Marin county, California, just north of the Golden Gate, is another an-other early national monument, having been created in 1908. Here is a small but fine grove of Cali fornia redwood trees nestling in i deep ravine on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais. The monument wai named in honor of John Muir, the famous naturalist, who did much tc arouse public sentiment for protection protec-tion of the redwoods and sequoias AMONG THE BETTER knowr national monuments, primarily ol scientific interest, are the Petrified Forest on U. S. Highway 66 in east ern Arizona, the White Sands ir south central New Mexico, Jack son Hole in Wyoming, adjoining Grand Teton National park, and the Badlands in South Dakota east oi the Black Hills. Less well known but accessible by highway are thi Joshua Tree national monument ir southern California, the Organ Pipe Cactus and Saguaro national monuments monu-ments in Arizona. These three areat all contain unusual exhibits of de ert type flora. Capulin mountain In New Mexico, Craters of the Moon In Idaho, the Devil's Postpilc and Pinnacles in California, Sunset "' Cr&iizr in Arfsoiia and VThccor in Colorado are all national monuments illustrating various forms of volcanic action. Capulin mountain is a particular ly fine example of an extinct vol cano, and the highway spiral! around the mountain from the bas to the rim of the crater. Front the summit on a clear day onet hat a view extending into four states. PERSONS INTERESTED in cav erns will find the following group a national monuments of interest) Jewel Cave in South Dakota, Leh man Caves in Nevada, Oregor Caves near Crater Lake Nationa park in Oregon and Timpanogoi Cave in Utah. Shoshone Caverni national monument in Wyoming it not yet developed and is not open U the public. Students of extinct forms of ani mal and plant life will profit frorr a yisit to Dinosaur national monu ment in Colorado and Fossil Cycae national monument in South Da kota. PERHAPS THE MOST interest ing and unusual of all national mon uments is a group in southern Utar near the Arizona border, which in eludes the Arches, the Natura Bridges and the Rainbow bridg national monuments. All thre areas are relatively inaccessible A road does extend fairly close t the first of the natural bridges, bir from there on the traveler must pro ceed on foot or horseback. To reacr the Rainbow bridge the visitor must make a two-day trip by horse. With an automobile with over sized tires it is possible to pene trate the Windows section of Arche national monument, but to the Dev 11' s Garden one must go on fooi or horse. The story told in thesi three national monuments is one a erosion by wind and water. Other national monuments whicr also tell the story of erosion are: Cedar Breaks, Zion and Capita? Reef in Utah, Grand Canyon anc Chiricahua in Arizona, the Blacfa Canyon of the Gunnison and Colorado Colo-rado in the state of Colorado. FURTHER INFORMATION per-taining per-taining to national monuments maj be obtained by writing Nationa. Park Service, Washington 25, D. C. or Chicago 54, 111. |