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From the January 2016 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine.
On August 26, Americans will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. Members and friends of ASLA can feel especially proud, as the society, along with the American Civic Association, was instrumental in the passage of the National Park Service Organic Act, which established the agency, in 1916. Today there are 59 national parks, sublime wedges of paradise where time seems to stand still. To begin the centenary year at LAM, we?ve gone to extremes to find parks with superlative qualities as a reminder of the awe the parks inspire.
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Death Valley National Park, California (Driest) Death Valley National Park is three million acres of extremes. It is the driest of our national parks, receiving an average 1.94 inches of precipitation a year. It is said to have registered the hottest air temperature recorded on Earth?s surface (134 degrees Fahrenheit). And it has the lowest elevation in North America, at 282 feet below sea level. Given this punishing environment, the park?s most surprising feature (subjectively speaking) is Darwin Falls, a series of freshwater cascades that total 80 feet in height. Its stream, Darwin Creek, is one of four in the park, and supports an abundance of plant life that is rare in its thankless surroundings.
 
Historic American Engineering Record HAER AR-4-G
Hot Springs National Pa...