National park National Park in 1914. The UK waited until 1951 for the designation of its first national park, The Peak District National Park which sits at the southern end of the Pennine Hills surrounded by industrial cities. This followed perhaps 70 years of pressure for greater public access to the landscape. By the end of the decade a further 9 national parks had been designated. Europe has some 359 national parks as of 2010. Africa's first national park was established in 1925 when Albert I of Belgium designated an area of what is now Democratic Republic of Congo centred on the
Capitol Reef National Park Capitol Reef National Park Capitol Reef National Park is an American national park located in south-central Utah. The park is approximately long on its northsouth axis but an average of just wide. The park was established in 1971 to preserve of desert landscape and is open all year with May through September being the highest visitation months. Located partially in Wayne County, Utah, the area was originally named "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman. Capitol Reef National Park was initially designated a national monument on August 2, 1937, by President Franklin