America is home to some of the world’s most stunning natural wonders, but many of these sights are increasingly under threat from climate change and pollution.
While some are slowly experiencing change, others are deteriorating at a more rapid rate.
These are just 19 incredible and natural American sights that travellers should see before it’s too late.
With over 700 miles of trails, Montana’s Glacier National Park is a paradise for hikers and those seeking up-close encounters with nature. Once home to more than 150 glaciers, the park now has fewer than 25 and is potentially at risk of losing all of its glaciers in the next 15 years thanks to climate change.
The oldest national park in America, Yellowstone is famous for its array of wildlife and its stunning geysers, like Old Faithful. The park is suffering due to infrastructure problems, air pollution and the decline of its white bark pines.
The Grand Canyon was listed as one of the 11 most endangered historic places in the US by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It earned a spot on the list due to increased development projects there, which range from uranium mining to tourist resorts.
Denali National Park and Preserve is home to 6 million acres of Alaskan wilderness and the highest mountain peak in North America. Climate change has led to increases in melting glaciers and reduced snowfall, which is affecting its wildlife.
Joshua Tree National Park’s famous tree-sized yuccas and the animals that depend on them are becomingly increasingly threatened by rising temperatures and decreased moisture levels.
Many people go to Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska for bear-watching, but severe threats from climate change and mining are endangering the park’s precious ecosystem.
The Big Sur region of California offers visitors awesome whale-watching opportunities, but recent droughts and wildfires have been harming the coastal region, leading to fewer sightings of the aquatic mammals every year.
Underneath the Mendenhall Glacier in Mendenhall Valley, Alaska, are its breathtaking ice caves and their ice-capped domes. But the caves continue to melt each year.
Glaciers mantled Mount Rainier for most or all of its 500,000-year lifespan, but they have been continuously retreating due to increasingly warmer summers over the last 30 years.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan is known for its colourful sandstone cliffs and array of waterfalls, beaches, and forests. But the rise of air and water temperatures, plus a reduction in ice coverage, are beginning to affect the area’s natural ecosystem.
California’s Sequoia National Park is home to a dramatic landscape of rugged foothills. Its famed giant sequoia trees have been becoming increasingly vulnerable due to higher numbers of wildfires.
The oldest of the Hawaiian Islands, Kauai has pristine beaches, rain forests, lush hiking trails, and magnificent waterfalls. Already at a risk factor for flooding, hurricanes, tsunamis, and coastal erosion, the island could see an increase in these hazards as climate change continues to lead to rising sea levels on its coasts.
At Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, visitors are treated to a rich scenery of shimmering lakes, alpine terrain, and the Teton Range. Besides its landscape, the park is also popular for fishing thanks to its high trout population, but warmer water temperatures are threatening their numbers.
Florida’s Biscayne National Park is a highly popular snorkelling destination thanks to its rare combination of coral reefs and emerald islands. Climate change has resulted in warmer seas, coral bleaching, ocean acidification, and hurricanes that are causing stag horn and elk horn coral to die at a staggering rate.
At Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan, you can take in spectacular lake views from bluffs that tower 450 feet above the shore. Its prized dunes and beaches are suffering from invasive algae species, invasive mussel species, and rising phosphate levels.
- Business Insider – Talia Avakian
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