The national parks preceded the National Park Service, but the first great natural park was a state park. Californiaâs Yosemite State Park was established in 1864, by a federal cession approved by President Abraham Lincoln, and on October 21, 1880, President Rutherford B. Hayes toured Californiaâs Yosemite in an open carriage.
In fact, humans have been capturing the energy of moving water for thousands of years. Today, harnessing the power of moving water to generate electricity, known as hydroelectric power, is the largest source of emissions-free, renewable electricity in the United States and worldwide.
1 Energy changes in falling water Is converted to 26. 2  Water at the top of the dam has potential energy. 3  When water falls downwards the potential energy changes into kinetic energy The kinetic energy in the moving water spins the generators and thatâll produce electrical energy 27.