The National Parks:... Episodes

The sumptuously filmed history of America's national parks begins in 1851, when California's beautiful Yosemite Valley started to attract people who wished to exploit the land, and others, like John Muir, who believed it should be preserved. In 1864, Congress passed legislation to protect the land from commercial interests, but ceded control to California. In 1872, Congress protected Yellowstone, in the Wyoming Territory's northwest corner, by creating the first national park.