Theodore Roosevelt National Park

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Theodore Roosevelt National Park
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• Established in 1978

• Named after 26th President

• Located in western North Dakota

• Covers 110 square miles

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The park is divided into three units

• The North Unit

• The South Unit

• The Elkhorn Ranch Unit

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The North Unit

• Only one in ten park visitors make it out to the
  remote North Unit

• The North Units topography is far less inspiring
  than the South Unit

• The North Unit has a seven mile long scenic road

• Many amazing features make it well worth a visit

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Elkhorn Ranch

• Roosevelt ranched here for many years

• Remote and seldom visited

• Not easily accessed by vehicle

• Located near the Little Missouri River

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• In 1884, both his wife and mother died

• Roosevelt traveled to his ranch to recover from
  the tragedy

• He ranched in the area and published his
  experiences in newspapers and magazines

• After recovering from the tragedy, he returned to
  the East and back into politics

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The entire park is contained
within the Little Missouri Grassland
The Little Missouri River
flows through the park
The Maah Daah Hey Trail
connects all three park units
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Little Missouri River

• Tourists can canoe the Little Missouri River

• The total trip is 110 miles long

• The trip takes four days to complete

• Tourists canoe through all three park units
  during this trip

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The Little Missouri Badlands
were explored in 1924
to determine possible park sites
It was designated the
Roosevelt Recreation Demonstration Area
in 1935
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1946- It was transferred to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
1947- It was established as the
Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park
1978- It finally became a national park
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Attractions

• Scenic drives

• Foot and horse trails

• Back country hiking

• Camping

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• Summer temperatures can stay above 95 degrees

• Winter temperatures can be below -20 degrees

• There is normally little or no natural water

• There is an amazing display of northern lights

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Animals

• Buffalo

• Elk

• Pronghorn

• Wild Horses

• Bighorn Sheep

• Wild Turkey

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Bison

• Bison can usually be seen from the scenic drives

• They can be very dangerous at times

• They have been known to completely destroy the
  automobiles of those who harass them

• They were reintroduced into the South Unit in 1956

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Conservation

• Theodore Roosevelt is known to be our
  Conservationist President

• This is one of the main reasons that the park is
  named after him

• He established 51 bird reserves, 4 game reserves,
  and 150 national forests

• He also established the U.S. Forest Service

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Maltese Cross Cabin

• Built during the winter of 1883-84

• Roosevelts first home in Dakota Territory

• Very few tourists visit the cabin

• The cabin is open to self-guided tours

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Scenery

• The park displays many seasonal variations in
  scenery

• Red scoria is abundant in the fall

• Winter is almost devoid of color

• Sprouting plants and moisture accentuate bright
  color in the spring

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Fossils

• The park has one of the largest petrified forests
  in the U.S.

• Swamps and lush forests once dominated the
  landscape

• Fossils of crocodiles, alligators, turtles, and
  fish can be found in these areas.

• Fossils are on display at the South Unit Visitor
  Center

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• 42 of the entire park is made up of wilderness

• Which is approximately 29,920 acres of the park

• There are 19,410 acres of wilderness in the North
  Unit

• The South Unit has 10,510 acres of wilderness

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• Scoria can be seen throughout the park, providing
  a pleasant scent year round

• Cannonball concretions can be found along the
  North Unit scenic drive

• They were formed by the selective precipitation
  of mineral-rich groundwater

• They are nearly spherical because the sandstone
  that was cemented together was of uniform
  permeability

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• The entire park has been surrounded by barbed
  wire to separate bison and livestock

• The park has a capacity of 500 bison

• Captured bison are sold or go to other national
  parks

• Wild horses are kept to a maximum of about 100
  through occasional roundups

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Trails

• The Maah Daah Hey Trail

• The Coal Vein Trail

• The Jones Creek Trail

• The Petrified Forest Trail

• These trails are very well suited for back
  country hikers

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Backcountry hiking

• Trails of roaming bison provide excellent tracks
  to explore

• There is no treatable water in the backcountry

• Backcountry hikes have many dangers

• Prairie rattlesnakes and bison are the most
  severe dangers of backcountry hiking in the park

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Painted Canyon Overlook

• The low broken lands and badlands formations
  stretch out far to the north from the shallow
  canyon

• The best times to visit the canyon are at sunrise
  and sunset

• During these times, the wide variety of colors
  come alive in the long shadows

• This also happens when low clouds hang from the
  horizon

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"I never would have been President if it had not
been for my experiences in North Dakota."  
-Theodore Roosevelt