On first glance, it’s pretty hard to tell which poster is of a real place, and which poster is fictional, yes?
Brightly colored travel posters that look like silkscreens began in the 1930s, as part of a Works Administration Project (WPA) funded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, designed to give employment to otherwise unemployed artists. The Great Depression was still going strong, but many of these artworks created a post-Art Deco, pre-Populux aesthetic,a simple yet noble monumental grandeur. Today these posters of the National Parks are recognized for their artistic value and exist in many reproductions.
What’s the difference between a National Park and a National Monument? Parks are natural areas and encompass biospheres; monuments most often (but not always) preserve social or archaeological sites. In 2021 there were 63 National Parks and 129 National Monuments.
New parks are being added all the time. The latest is New River Gorge National Park, in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, which was declared in 2020. Parks can also be downgraded, redesignated, or divided. Ever hear of Sullys Hill National Park? I haven’t either; in the 1930s it changed agencies and now operates as a federal game preserve.
Here’s a list of National Parks and Monuments that may be coming in the future.
National Parks yet to be declared
| Dinosaur Mounds National Monument
Buzzard Back Wolverine Spoon Soda Shores Little Porcupine Wilderness Pronghorn Prairie Lizard Throat Wilderness Plume Island Big Hoof Island Mourning Woman Wilderness Bearded River Grand Oxbow Agate Peak Short Cap Fossil Beds Sequoia-Razor White Tail Slough |
