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TODAY IN PARK HISTORY

 
 

Voyageurs National Park
courtesy of the National Park Service

APRIL 8

1968
Padre Island National Seashore along Texas' Gulf Coast is dedicated as a unit of the National Park System. The national seashore protects a 67.5-mile section of the 130-mile-long barrier island, the longest remaining undeveloped barrier island in the world. Padre Island is one of  ten national seashores in the National Park System.

1975
Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park is established as the nation's 36th national park. Park is named for the Voyageurs, French-Canadian canoe-men who traveled these waters in their birch-bark canoes from the Great Lakes to the interior of the western United States and Canada. The 218,200-acre, water-based park is situated on the northern edge of Minnesota, with 55 miles of the park meandering along the Canadian border with Ontario.

 

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