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====Natural Monuments====
[[File: Tunnel_View,_Yosemite_Valley,_Yosemite_NP_-_Diliff.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Parkby David Iliff]]
Another significant contribution to the creation of national parks in the United States also comes from Americans looking to Europe, but in this case it was responsible for the creation of something new rather than copying a European tradition. When Americans visited Europe, the Middle East, and Asia there were struck by the massive monuments built by ancient civilizations. With a relatively young country and little desire to create pyramids, coliseums, or great walls, many Americans looked to the vast natural splendor of the West as their answer to Europe’s monuments.
Early parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite existed as unique examples of natural environments unlike anything else on the North American continent. With the passage of the 1906 Antiquities Act, presidential authority to set aside lands as national monuments further crystallized the idea that certain natural features of the United States were worthy of consideration as part of the country’s patrimony. After the creation of the National Park Service in 1916, the infrastructure of these parks continued to develop until ultimately average citizens visited the parks to see and experience their natural beauty.
====Why America?====
