Includes index.

North America's wild parklands, now more than 130 in number, boast a wealth of superlatives. They hold the world's tallest and largest living things, the grandest gorge, the longest known cave system, and the biggest bison herd. Several of them have been declared UNESCO world heritage sites and international biosphere reserves. All are scenic wonderlands, and many are sanctuaries for threatened wildlife and rare plants. More than 330 color photographs, diagrams, and maps illustrate the 336 pages of National Parks of North America. Vivid profiles and concise data boxes, arranged alphabetically by country, describe each park; sidebars feature natural, historical, and cultural highlights of the major ones. To offer further insights into these fragments of a once wild continent, the directory at the back of the book provides addresses and telephone numbers.