Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a place that embraces the rugged wilderness of North Dakota, the so-called ‘Badlands.’ Layered hills and valleys carved over long years by water and wind stretch out, and it boasts a vast natural landscape where bison and wild horses roam.

On the reverse of the coin is engraved Theodore Roosevelt on horseback by the Little Missouri River. Having lived a ranch life in this region in his youth, he later became President of the United States and a powerful advocate of nature conservation.

This scene holds the story of how time spent in rugged nature planted in one man’s heart the conviction that nature must be protected. That Roosevelt, once he became president, took the lead in establishing many national parks and protected areas is not unrelated to such experiences.

This land was designated a nationally protected site on February 25, 1946, and remained as a park bearing his name. It is also the only national park in the United States named after a president who cherished nature.

This coin from the ‘America the Beautiful’ series conveys together the story of a wild land and of a man who loved it.