China plans national park to outsize Yellowstone

BEIJING, Oct 13 (Reuters) China plans to create a vast national park in the remote northwestern region of Xinjiang that would be even bigger than Yellowstone National Park in the United States, the world's first.

The Kanas Geological Park will be expanded tenfold to around 10,000 sq km (3,860 sq m) over the next few years as it incorporates surrounding grasslands and tourist resorts, the Xinhua news agency said, citing the park's administrators.

Yellowstone, home to the famed Old Faithful geyser, covers close to 9,000 sq km.

The Kanas park -- located in a mostly mountainous area bordering Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan -- is home to Kanas Lake, China's deepest freshwater lake.

The world's largest national park is North-East Greenland National Park, which covers 972,000 sq km -- just shy of the area of France, Germany and Austria combined.

REUTERS SKB ND1140