Glacier National Park: A Culmination of Giants (America's National Parks)

Bristol takes readers on a journey through the history of Glacier National Park, beginning over a billion years ago from the formation of the Belt Sea, to the present day climate-changing extinction of the very glaciers that sculpted most of the wonders of its landscapes. He delves into the ways in which this area of Montana seemed to have been preparing itself for the coming of humankind through a series of landmass adjustments like the Lewis Overthrust and the ice ages that came and went. First there were tribes of Native Americans whose deep regard for nature left the landscape intact. They were followed by Euro-American explorers and settlers who may have been awed by the new lands, but began to move wildlife to near extinction. Fortunately for the area that would become Glacier, some began to recognize that laying siege to nature and its bounties would lead to wastelands. Bristol recounts how a renewed conservation ethic fostered by such leaders as Emerson, Thoreau, Olmstead, Muir, and Teddy Roosevelt took hold. Their disciples were Grinnell, Hill, Mather, Albright, and Franklin Roosevelt, and they would not only take up the call but rally for the cause. These giants would create and preserve a park landscape to accommodate visitors and wilderness alike. "[A] journey through the history of Glacier National Park, beginning over a billion years ago, from the formation of the Belt Sea to the present-day climate-changing extinction of the very glaciers that sculpted most of the wonders of its landscapes. He delves into the ways in which this area of Montana seemed to have been preparing itself for the coming of humankind through a series of landmass adjustments such as the Lewis Overthrust and the ice ages that came and went. First, there were tribes of Native Americans, whose deep regard for nature left the landscape intact. They were followed by Euro-American explorers and settlers, who may have been awed by the new lands but nevertheless had a negative impact on the land and the wildlife, resulting in the near extinction of certain species ... Bristol recounts how a renewed conservation ethic, fostered by such leaders as Emerson, Thoreau, Olmstead, Muir, and Teddy Roosevelt, took hold"--Back cover blurb "The flow of history is created, championed, and sustained by giants. This is certainly the case of Glacier National Park, which was forged by mountains and ice, discovered and protected by early humans, brought into being as America's 10th national park, and thereafter maintained and enhanced by others throughout the 20th century, even to the present day"--Provided by publisher