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National forests and parks

Where is Komodo National Park? Google doodle spotlights Indonesia's Komodo dragon

Larry Bleiberg
Special for USA TODAY

As the March 6 Google doodle of a Komodo dragon illustrates,  the U.S. is hardly the only country that preserves its natural heritage. Around the world, nations have been inspired by American parks to showcase and protect their own mountain ranges, wild animals and geologic formations. “Virtually every country in the world now has some sort of national park or protected system,” says Adrian Howkins, an associate professor of global environmental history at Colorado State University and co-editor of National Parks beyond the Nation: Global Perspectives on "America's Best Idea" (University of Oklahoma Press, $34.95). He shares some favorites with Larry Bleiberg for USA TODAY.

The National Park Service celebrates its 100th anniversary

Komodo National Park
Indonesia
Created in 1980, this park initially focused on protecting the deadly Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, which can reach 150 pounds. “Now it does a wonderful job of preserving biodiversity, on land and in the ocean,” Howkins says. Although remote, the tropical island is popular with divers and is visited by cruise ships. komodonationalpark.org

Kruger National Park
South Africa
South Africa’s first national park offers a chance to see the so-called Big Five game animals: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and Cape buffalo. Covering nearly five million acres, it has played an important role in conservation for more than a century. “It’s the quintessential African park,” Howkins says. sanparks.org/parks/kruger

Uluru-Kata-Tjuta National Park
Australia
This Outback reserve, centered on a massive rock outcropping, has become a symbol for Australian identity, Howkins says.  “People will travel hundreds of miles into the desert to see it.” Originally called Ayers Rock, the name changed to reflect the site’s importance to Aboriginal Australians, who have lived in the region for 30,000 years. While many visitors once climbed the rock, the practice is now frowned upon because of its spiritual significance. parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru

Tatra National Parks
Slovakia and Poland
A two-nation park, this Eastern European preserve offers scenery very similar to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.  “It’s one of the few remaining truly wild areas of mainland Europe. It has brown bears and gray wolves and a step-back-in-time setting,” Howkins says.tanap.org

Torres Del Paine
Chile
This dramatic Patagonia mountain range, graced with glaciers, wild herds of llama-like guanacos and deep-blue alpine lakes, has come to represent the spirit of the entire region, Howkins says.” It’s one of the most visually iconic landscapes in South America.” It also is largely responsible for the enormous growth of tourism in what remains a remote area at the bottom of the continent. torresdelpaine.com

Waterton Lakes National Park
Canada
This cross-border neighbor joined with Montana’s Glacier National Park in the 1930s to form the world’s first peace park, a formal arrangement to protect areas on both sides of an international boundary. But Waterton has plenty to offer on its own. “It’s much smaller than Glacier, and really quite easy to visit,” Howkins says. The park offers rugged, windswept scenery and has the deepest lake in the Canadian Rockies. pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/waterton/index.aspx

Dartmoor National Park
Great Britain
Howkins got to know this southwest England preserve as a teen, joining an annual hike competition called the Ten Tors, which visits 10 exposed granite outcroppings and can cover more than 50 miles over a weekend. “It’s a spectacular landscape of eroded granite pinnacles,” he says. Established in the 1950s, this preserve includes farms and villages within its boundaries, along with medieval ruins and prehistoric tombs. “It’s a very different kind of national park.” dartmoor.gov.uk

Iguacu/Iguazu National Parks
Brazil and Argentina
These parks straddle an international border with one of the world’s largest waterfalls. “There’s quite a lot of competition between Argentina and Brazil to bring the tourists in,” Howkins says. But the parks aren’t limited to the falls, and are home to many rare species including jaguars, ocelots and giant anteaters. brazil.org.za/iguazu-falls.htmlandiguazuargentina.com

Serengeti
Tanzania
This sprawling wildlife park is famous for its annual wildebeest and zebra migration. “Hundreds of thousands of animals run across the plains in a mass movement,” Howkins says. The preserve was created in the 1950s when the country was still under British control, and required the relocation of the native Maasai people. “After independence it became one of Africa’s major tourist attractions.” tanzaniaparks.com/serengeti.html

Antarctic Peninsula
While there is no formal national park in the southernmost continent, Howkins studies the region and argues that international conservation agreements create a de facto park, and a spectacular one at that.It is probably the closest to a pure wilderness you can get anywhere on the planet. In many ways it is the most protected landscape on earth.” Expedition and cruise ships regularly visit from South America, drawn by the chance to see penguin colonies, seals, whales and other wildlife. iaato.org/home

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