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Jeff Williams’ father was a seasonal Park Ranger with the National Park Service, taking his family out to Wyoming every summer.

Now, Williams still looks out over the parks, albeit from a different vantage point. He is currently the ISS commander of Expedition 48, and recently broke the United States record for the most cumulative days in space.

He also is a big fan of the parks, and this week, in honor of the National Park Service’s 100th birthday, Williams posted many of his pictures online, along with a touching video tribute to the Parks that you can watch above.

All of the images Williams took are composites, made of many images stitched together, because even from low-earth orbit it’s hard to capture the entirety of most parks in a single image. Enjoy this beautiful look at some of the prettiest parks in the country.

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park

Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park.
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Light glints off the Colorado river in the Glen Canyon, which stretches across parts of Utah and Arizona.
Grand Canyon National Park

Grand Canyon National Park

The wide swath of the Grand Canyon took astronaut Jeff Williams 13 pictures to fully capture.
Mount St Helens

Mount St. Helens

Mount St. Helens, best known for its dramatic eruption in 1980 is now the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Williams wrote: “Mount St. Helens looks spectacular from directly above!”
Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming covered with snow.
Glacier Bay National Park

Glacier Bay National Park

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve covers 3.3 million acres in Alaska.
Everglades

Everglades

The Everglades are commonly called the ‘river of grass’ and stretch for a wide distance along Florida.
national parks