(Post and photos by David Miller, Rob Gilchrist, Ernie Blankenship, and Brian Childress)
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 forest eco region.
Yellowstone spans almost 3,500 miles, and extends into parts of Montana and Idaho, making it one of the largest national parks in the US. Yellowstone National Park sits on top of a dormant volcano and is home to more geysers and hot springs than any other place on earth.
There are five super-volcano features at the park: Hot springs, geysers, travertine terraces where hot water interacts with limestone, fumaroles which are steam vents, and mud pots.
The park has five entrances: north, northeast, east, south, and west.
Coversations/Things we learned:
This park is one of the crown jewels of the US National Park System. We visited this park in mid September and the air temperature ranged from 25 - 40 degrees. As a result and as our photos reflect, seeing the steam from the many geysers created a feeling of walking through a prehistoric land and going back in time. We would rank this park in the top 5 of all national parks and Yellowstone should be considered a must location to visit. please give yourselves a week to visit this park to ensure you see every location.
Yellowstone is home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states. In addition to having a diversity hi of small animals, Yellowstone is notable for its predator–prey complex of large mammals, including eight ungulate species (bighorn sheep, bison, elk, moose, mountain goats, mule deer, pronghorn, and white-tailed deer) and seven large predators (black bears, Canada lynx, coyotes, grizzly bears, mountain lions, wolverines, and wolves).
Things to do and see:
Drive grand loop road for a panoramic view of Yellowstone.
See Yellowstone Falls in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
Hike up to Observation Point and witness Old Faithful Geyser.
Gaze at the different colors at Grand Prismatic Spring.
Walk the boardwalk at Upper Geyser Basin.
Contact Information:
Yellowstone National Park
PO Box 168 Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190-0168
Phone: (307) 344-7381
Website: https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm
Yellowstone National Park Lodges P.O. Box 165
Yellowstone National Park
Wyoming 82190
Phone: (307) 344-7311
Yellowstone Lake
Gallery of photos
Lehardy Rapids
Mud Volcano Area
Upper and Lower Falls
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Norris Geyser Basin
Old Faithful Lodge
Old Faithful Geyser
Brochure:
(Our video of Old Faithful Eruption)
Biscuit Basin
Grand Prismatic Spring
Lewis Falls
Moose Falls
