This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. This reproduction of the National Parks Index 2012-2016 is a complete administrative listing of the National Park System's areas and related areas. It has been revised to reflect congressional actions. The entries, grouped by state, include administrative addresses and phone numbers, dates of authorization and establishment, boundary change dates, acreages, website addresses, and brief statements explaining the areas' national significance. Additional material about the NPS is included.Introduction * National Park System * Nomenclature of Park System Areas * Designation of Wilderness Areas * Parks in the Nation's Capital * Related Areas * Regional Offices * Maps of the National Park System * Statistical Summary * Listing of National Park System Areas by State * Related Areas * Authorized Areas * Affiliated Areas * National Heritage Areas * National Wild and Scenic Rivers System * National Trails SystemThe National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.The diversity of the parks is reflected in the variety of titles given to them. These include such designations as national park, national preserve, national monument, national memorial, national historic site, national seashore, and national battlefield park. Although some titles are self-explanatory, others have been used in many different ways. For example, the title "national monument" has been given to natural reservations, historic military fortifications, prehistoric ruins, fossil sites, and to the Statue of Liberty. In recent years, both Congress and the National Park Service have attempted to simplify the nomenclature and to establish basic criteria for use of the different official titles.