National Parks

Yosemite Forced to Rename All Its Hotels Due to an Opportunistic Intellectual Property Battle

You probably think of Yosemite National Park as a haven for nature, a place to experience all that is good and pure, in a landscape untainted by commercialism. Nope, just like the rest of the world, it’s being ruined by greedy assholes. In the early 1900s, shortly after Yosemite was founded as one of the…

Tech News Alissa Walker Jan 14

A Chart Showing How the Way America Uses Its Land Changed Over the Last 60 Years

This chart from the USDA shows just what’s been going on in the American landscape over the last six decades. Part of the takeaway is what has changed—the rise of cities and we’ve stopped grazing so much of the forestlands—but it’s also just as notable for what hasn’t changed. Top image: 1932 photo of ranger…

io9 Ria Misra Sep 30

Moonrise Over Arches National Park

As the time for summer vacations comes upon us, let the beauty of Arches National Park inspire some nature outings. Moonrise over Balanced Rock, 5/13/14 NPS photo by Kait Thomas/flickr/CC BY 2.0 Contact the author at [email protected].

io9 Katharine Trendacosta May 22

Yellowstone Coyote Demonstrates Flawless Downward Dog Technique

A stretching coyote emulates just the right yoga pose in this shot taken near Yellowstone Lake on March 27, 2015. Though the coyote population in Yellowstone declined after the reintroduction of wolves in the mid-1990s, recent data has shown their numbers are on the rise. Photo by Diane Renkin, via the Yellowstone National Park Flickr…

io9 Cheryl Eddy Apr 6

The Breathtaking View of the Stars Over Zion National Park

This is what getting far far away from light pollution to Zion National Park in Utah will get you. Taken on January 21, 2015, the stars are so numerous that the cliffs are blacker than the night. Full image below. Image Credit: Parks Service/Sierra Coon/CC BY 2.0 This photo is of the stars above the…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta Feb 25

The Conscience and Curse Ridden Return of Stolen Petrified Forest Rocks

In Bad Luck, Hot Rocks: Conscience Letters and Photographs from the Petrified Forest, Ryan Thompson and Phil Orr document everything in the national park’s “conscience pile” — the name park employees give the mound of rocks that have been returned by guilty thieves. While some people just felt bad, others became convinced they’d been cursed…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta Feb 6

The Beauty of Yellowstone’s Fountain Paint Pots In the Cold

The Fountain Paint Pots in Yellowstone National Park are named for the colorful muds produced by the oxidizing iron in the mud, the natural result of hot springs. In November 2014, a light dusting of snow both revealed the topography of the area and made the steam rising from the ground clear and eerie. Image…

io9 Katharine Trendacosta Feb 5

Coming Soon: National Park Sites Dedicated to The Manhattan Project

Today the Senate passed a bill that will create three National Parks sites to commemorate the Manhattan Project, the World War II program that gave us the atomic bomb. The funding for the sites has been a long time coming, with fervent debate about what national parks devoted to such a destructive force should look…

Tech News Matt Novak Dec 12

The Grand Canyon Is Full Of Clouds Right Now. Why?

This view may look like it shows the view from high above the clouds, but what you’re seeing is actually the ground-level view of what it looks like to look over the Grand Canyon right now. And it’s not just in one spot. Here are some more views of the upside-down sight that greeted visitors…

io9 Ria Misra Dec 12

Glacier National Park Is On Track To Be Glacier-Free By 2030

When Glacier National Park was dedicated in 1910, this stunning span of the Rocky Mountains on the Montana-Canadian border counted over 150 thick, morphing ice sheets that gave the park its name. One very warm century later, there are only 26 glaciers here. And by 2030, scientists warn, that number could be zero. One computer-based…

Climate Change Alissa Walker Nov 26

The Wildfire In Yosemite Has Swollen To Four Times Its Original Size

A small wildfire that had been burning in Yosemite since July suddenly become a much bigger wildfire, consuming over 2,500acres near hiker-favorite Half Dome. Pictures of the blaze (and the terrific amounts of smoke it’s generating) are a dramatic look at how quickly a wildfire can move. Though the fire had been burning on a…

io9 Ria Misra Sep 9

Climbing Grand Teton Without A Rope

Rising 7,000 feet above the town of Jackson Hole in Wyoming, the Teton Mountain Range, while only about 40 miles long, is a dramatic sight. Standing out among the peaks is Grand Teton, towering at 13,770 feet. I set out with five friends in an attempt to free solo it. The term “free solo” in…

Tech News Corey Hass Aug 11

Once Again, Yellowstone Is Not Erupting And Killing Us All

Someone, somewhere, decided that Yellowstone was in a period of unusually high geologic activity and facing major road closures and evacuations, and therefore was in danger of imminent eruption. This is all so ridiculously untrue, I hesitate to even use the “debunkery” tag because it’s hard to believe it needs debunking. An erupting geyser and…

Tech News Mika McKinnon Aug 10

Somebody Crashed a Drone into Yellowstone’s Hot Springs

If you’re going to roundly ignore the ban on drones in America’s national parks, then indeed you deserve to lose your toy in the murky, 160-degree depths of a hot spring. This past weekend, a tourist crashed a drone right into Yellowstone’s iconic Grand Prismatic Spring. The incident is under investigation, and officials hope to…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Aug 6

Each Year, 250 Hikers Have To Be Rescued From the Grand Canyon. Why?

The hike down into the Grand Canyon is a rewarding one, full of gorgeous views. It’s also, however, a treacherous hike with 250 of the people who attempt the route eventually needing rescue from the National Parks Service annually. Just what makes it so dangerous? Commenter eregyrn summed up some of the treacherous conditions that…

io9 Ria Misra Jul 10

The Grand Canyon Faces Gravest Threat in the Park’s 95-Year History

Developers want to put gondolas, hotels and shops in and around the Grand Canyon, in what the National Park Service has called the “most serious threat the park has faced in its 95-year history.” Above: A panorama of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim, from which proposed developments would be visible | Photo Credit:…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Jul 10

Drones Are Now Banned in Every National Park In America

The National Parks Service just announced a sweeping ban on drones. The new policy prohibits “launching, landing, or operating unmanned aircraft on lands and waters administered by the National Park Service.” Why? Because they’re disruptive, that’s why. Drones are already banned in a few national parks, including Yosemite, for the simple fact that they’re a…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Jun 20

This Lookout Made of Mirrors Can Hide In Plain Sight

Now here’s a room with many views. At Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park in Scotland, you might come across this mirrored lookout blending into the landscape. The walls of mirrors are both framing device and invisibility cloak, reflecting an utterly unique view of the surrounding loch and trees. The Lookout is the work of…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Jun 13

What Are The Scientific Landmarks That We All Need To Visit?

Summer is coming up fast, and, hopefully, some accompanying vacation for you. What are some of the scientific landmarks that we should be checking out this season? Maybe it’s a national park, maybe it’s the perfect star-gazing spot, maybe your pick is a museum or planetarium, or just a place with some scientific history. Give…

io9 Ria Misra May 29

Express Your American Pride with Vintage-Style National Park Posters

Between 1936 and 1943, the Works Progress Administration produced about 2,000 posters to publicize everything from civic events to national parks. They’re gorgeous. So gorgeous that graphic designer Steven Thomas used them as inspiration for his latest project: See America. With 10 vintage-style posters, Thomas tips his hat to a golden age of design as…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes May 9

Yosemite Forced to Rename All Its Hotels Due to an Opportunistic Intellectual Property Battle

A Chart Showing How the Way America Uses Its Land Changed Over the Last 60 Years

Moonrise Over Arches National Park

Yellowstone Coyote Demonstrates Flawless Downward Dog Technique

The Breathtaking View of the Stars Over Zion National Park

The Conscience and Curse Ridden Return of Stolen Petrified Forest Rocks

The Beauty of Yellowstone’s Fountain Paint Pots In the Cold

Coming Soon: National Park Sites Dedicated to The Manhattan Project

The Grand Canyon Is Full Of Clouds Right Now. Why?

Glacier National Park Is On Track To Be Glacier-Free By 2030

The Wildfire In Yosemite Has Swollen To Four Times Its Original Size

Climbing Grand Teton Without A Rope

Once Again, Yellowstone Is Not Erupting And Killing Us All

Somebody Crashed a Drone into Yellowstone’s Hot Springs

Each Year, 250 Hikers Have To Be Rescued From the Grand Canyon. Why?

The Grand Canyon Faces Gravest Threat in the Park’s 95-Year History

Drones Are Now Banned in Every National Park In America

This Lookout Made of Mirrors Can Hide In Plain Sight

What Are The Scientific Landmarks That We All Need To Visit?

Express Your American Pride with Vintage-Style National Park Posters

Ozempic Shreds Bones? How a Small Study Turned Into a Big Health Myth

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