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Source: Wikipedia

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful geyser, one of its most popular. While it represents many types of biomes, the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of the South Central Rockies forests ecoregion.
Although Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years, aside from visits by mountain men during the early-to-mid-19th century, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s. Management and control of the park originally fell under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of the Interior, the first Secretary of the Interior to supervise the park being Columbus Delano. However, the U.S. Army was eventually commissioned to oversee management of Yellowstone for a 30-year period between 1886 and 1916. In 1917, administration of the park was transferred to the National Park Service, which had been created the previous year. Hundreds of structures have been built and are protected for their architectural and historical significance, and researchers have examined more than a thousand archaeological sites.
Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 sq mi (8,983 km2), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers, and mountain ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-elevation lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered a dormant volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Well over half of the world's geysers and hydrothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone. In 1978, Yellowstone was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous megafauna location in the contiguous United States. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in this park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States. Forest fires occur in the park each year; in the large forest fires of 1988, nearly one third of the park was burnt. Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing, and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls. During the winter, visitors often access the park by way of guided tours that use either snow coaches or snowmobiles.

  1. 1 History
    1. 1.1 Park creation
    2. 1.2 Later history
    3. 1.3 Heritage and Research Center
  2. 2 Geography
  3. 3 Geology
    1. 3.1 Volcanism
    2. 3.2 Geysers and the hydrothermal system
    3. 3.3 Earthquakes
  4. 4 Biology and ecology
    1. 4.1 Flora
    2. 4.2 Fauna
  5. 5 Forest fires
  6. 6 Climate
  7. 7 Recreation
  8. 8 Legal jurisdiction
  9. 9 See also
  10. 10 References
  11. 11 Further reading
  12. 12 External links

Comments

  • We traveled to Old Faithful on our first day, stopping at the sights and completing one hike to a waterfall. The second day, we traveled the upper loop. Be sure to start a smidge early and finish up before dinner. Bring twice the socks you wouldn't normally bring to change out of them once you're done hiking. If you are not from a higher elevation, have a can of oxygen on hand -- altitude sickness can hit after a couple of days, and even the town outside the park are at 6500+ ft. There is generally no cell service. Download a map and music for your driving. Plan to extend any drive you take due to slower traffic or animals in the road. Overall, it wasn't too crowded the first week of October. It was much cooler in the mornings and evenings, warranting a jacket, but midday allowed for just long sleeved shirts. Many hikes are quite steep and not looped, so you'll need to climb back up from most of the trails you climb down. Gas is outrageously priced both in the park and in the side towns. Most of the geyser areas smell of strong sulfur. Beautiful sights! Saw bison, elk, a coyote, ravens, and chipmunks.

    3 months ago
  • So if you like wildlife then this is a great place to go. If you like to see some amazing beautiful from all the nature then again great. If you want a place for family hikes and easy walks great. But if you are looking for amazing hikes and treks they don’t have them. Well maybe they do in the north part but it was closed. Everything else was super crowded because everyone can just drive there and take a few steps. The crowds were crazy and with that they just care about themselves so they walk in front of you while taking pics cut you off and so on. Now the next day we got up and headed towards the grand canyon part of the park. Now we are there at sunrise so no one was there. We started at the lower viewing area of the falls and walked our way down to inspiration point. There is a nice and easy trail that you can walk on which was about 2 miles and it was so nice because I one else was walking. They all just drove to each point and well they missed some of the best views. Take the walk you will be happy you did. It is a must go but if you like great hiking then pic another park

    6 months ago
  • Very beautiful. The wildlife are use to people but keep your distance. Geysers are everywhere. We were able to go right in and find a camp site. Lots of hiking trails. You can rent a boat if don't bring your own. Plenty of gas stations and stores with anything you could need. My favorite area is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. I could not believe how large the Gorge is and how beautiful the waterfall is. There are many waterfalls throughout the park. I enjoyed seeing the fields of many colors with flowers and grasses.

    4 months ago
  • Yellowstone is amazing. Lamar valley was closed while I was there so I guess I'll have to go back. The park has so much to offer, easy trails to advanced. The wildlife was everywhere, the scenery was spectacular. You can see mountains, valleys, plains, forests, and active geological areas that look alien. The visitor centers are worth a stop too.

    3 months ago
  • There is nothing I can say except, beautiful, awe inspiring, awesome like no other park I've visited before with rivers, mountains, valleys, forest, swamps, marshes, Geysers, and a canyon. It's a big park please take your time to see it all. It will take a week to see this whole area on the tourist side of the park. The thing is you could spend a lot longer like weeks going around to all the different areas of the park. I know we spent over a week, and I still didn't see everything I wanted to see. The views are something everyone should see for themselves. Make sure you can hike as there are a lot of things you have to park and hike to see like geysers. The rangers do a good job of keeping you away from the animals that get too close to the road or camp ground areas. Just remember, this is their home, and we are just visiting. You still have to be alert for dangers. Your phone will only work around the village areas and hotels in the park. You can get an app that will trigger as you driver around the park that has a commentator telling you about points of interest in the park. It's well worth the money on that note. Hope to go back again sometime.

    a month ago
  • Always love going to Yellowstone. I would suggest going in September when it is cooler though. Split the park into two days. If anything make sure you see old faithful, the grand prismatic springs, mammoth hot springs, and the lower falls on the east side. Also, Huckleberry is everywhere. Buy something safe like honey or preserves

    4 months ago
  • Absolutely stunning! One of my favorite places on earth. Truly unique landscapes and wildlife. The whole entire park is very easily accessible to see everything. Please respect the land and have common sense, lots of people getting way too comfortable with bison and wildlife in general. Get bear spray, we had to use ours on a curious little black bear! Very memorable trip and we can’t wait to come back one day :)

    3 months ago
  • Well it's Yellowstone! It is a dream place for many, myself included. I really recommend the grand loop drive if you have a couple of days to visit. I went in through the West Yellowstone Entrance, which is very close to the Grand Prismatic and Old Faithful. There are so many things to see and explore!

    5 months ago

Yellowstone National Park

➴ Coordinates: 44° 25‘ N, 110° 35‘ W
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21. November 2024
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