This course is an overview of the geological setting of some of the most beautiful and well known parks and monuments in the United States. A brief overview of the recent geologic evolution of the United States is surveyed. Parks are grouped into several themes: those in glaciated areas, such as Yosemite and Rocky Mountain National Parks, those located on the Colorado Plateau where the dominant sculptor is weathering and erosion on flat-lying rocks, such as Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks, those located in geologically complex areas, such as Death Valley and Great Basin National Parks, those associated with volcanism, such as Hawaii and Yellowstone National Parks, and those dominated by caves and caverns, such as Carlsbad and Mammoth Cave National Parks.