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National Park Quiz 44: Potpourri II

Is “Grant’s Tomb” the biggest tomb in the United States? Photo by Dschwen via Wikipedia.

1. True or false? General Grant National Memorial is the largest tomb in the United States.

2. True or false? Delaware is the only state without a National Park System unit.

3. True or false? The World War II Memorial is the only National Park System unit that serves as a memorial to all American prisoners of war.

4. True or false? Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site draws more visitors than any other National Park Service-administered national historic site.

5. True or false? Visitors who drive on the beaches at Padre Island National Seashore must use vehicles that are street-legal and licensed.

6. True or false? Arkansas Post National Memorial was established to commemorate the first U.S. military installation constructed west of the Mississippi River.

7. True or false? Some of the mountains in National Park System units are unnamed.

8. True or false? The speed record for climbing Devils Tower, the 1,267 foot-high topographic centerpiece of Devils Tower National Monument, stands at less than 20 minutes.

9. True or false? The statues in the Korean War Veterans National Memorial were carved from the same type of marble used to create the seated Lincoln statue in the Lincoln Memorial.

10. True or false? Of the ten most-visited units of the National Park System in 2008, only one was officially named “National Park.”

Extra Credit Question:

11. How many NPS units comprise the “Manhattan Sites” – that is, how many NPS units are located within the New York City borough of Manhattan?

Super Bonus Question:

12. Which legislation related to the National Park System was debated in Congress longer than any other piece of legislation since the 1964 Civil Rights Act?

Answers:

(1) True. Better known as "Grant’s Tomb," General Grant National Memorial is the largest tomb in North America. In addition to a marble floor and various trimmings, the tomb contains around 8,000 tons of granite. It took six years to build it.

(2) True. Delaware promoters and elected officials are now working feverishly to correct this “oversight.” Give yourself an extra credit point if you recalled that the Northern Marianas, a U.S. territory, also does not have a National Park System unit.

(3) False. The National Park System unit that owns that distinction is Georgia’s Andersonville National Historic Site. The park's National Prisoner of War Museum, which opened in 1998, is dedicated to all American men and women who have suffered as POWs.

(4) False. Fort Point National Historic Site, which recorded nearly 1.4 million visits last year, is the most-visited national historic site in the National Park System. It's true that the annual visitation of Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site (336,000 visits last year) exceeds that of any non-National Park Service administered national historic site.

(5) True. All beaches in Texas are considered public highways.

(6) False. Arkansas Post National Memorial commemorates a French settlement that was established in 1686 as the first permanent European settlement in the Mississippi River Valley.

(7) True. This includes some fairly substantial mountains, too. In Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, for example, there is an unnamed peak that tops out at 3,379 feet above sea level.

(8) True. Most climbers take three or four hours to summit Devils Tower, but Frank Sanders (who has climbed the tower hundreds of times) has climbed it in 13 minutes.

(9) False. The larger-than-life statues are made of stainless steel.

(10) True. Great Smoky Mountains National Park -- the fourth most-visited National Park System unit -- was the only National Park-designated unit n the list. The rest of the list consisted of four National Recreation Areas, three Parkways, one National Seashore, and the Lincoln Memorial.

(11) There are now six Manhattan Sites, including African Burial Ground National Monument, Castle Clinton National Monument, Federal Hall, General Grant National Memorial, Hamilton Grange, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site.

(12) This hotly-debated piece of legislation was the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).

Grading: 9 or 10 correct, rest on your laurels; 7 or 8 correct, pretty darn good; 6 correct, passable fair; 5 or fewer correct, nothing to brag about.

Comments

Pooey, missed numbers 6, 9, and 11. I may have to hit GEOG 370 yet.

Rick Smith


Wow, 10 out of 12! But what about the Tenement Museum in Manhattan, isn't that an NPS site??

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My travels through the National Park System: americaincontext.com


Good job, Barky. You'll soon be ready to take over as Quizmeister. That site you referred to (full name Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site) is an Affiliated Area.


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