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Natural History: Yellowstone
The nation's first national park testifies to
the lure of the great outdoors.

Yellowstone's Old Faithful is the
world's most famous geyser.
After 125 years, Yellowstone's 3,400 square miles of magnificent mountain ranges, forests, wildlife, and unique geologic wonders still stir the senses. When early explorers, such as Jim Colter, a former member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, first reported Yellowstone's boiling pools, mud pots, and gushing geysers, people dismissed their stories as tall tales. But during the mid-1800s the reports became too frequent and from sources judged too reliable. There was no denying the wonders of Yellowstone.

Congress established Yellowstone as the first U.S. National Park in 1872, and even though it was the country's dawning expression of its willingness to set aside lands for the enjoyment of all citizens, those proposing the park first had to prove the lands were good for virtually nothing else. It was a noble gesture nevertheless, destined to be repeated by governments around the globe.



Perhaps Yellowstone's largest single group of visitors were the Nez Perce Indians as they fled the U.S. Army across Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming in 1877, taking some tourists hostage in the park. Today, with annual visitation hovering around 3 million, Yellowstone is among the most popular of all the National Parks. The same natural beauty, wildlife, rugged rivers and waterfalls, geysers and seething cauldrons that greeted the Nez Perce and gutsy explorers still attract throngs.

Those proposing the park first had to prove the lands were good for virtually nothing else.
But today's visitors have a much easier time of it. (Perhaps too easy, as the park can get uncomfortably crowded during the summer.) Scenic roadways wind through lodgepole pine forests, edging alpine meadows filled with wildflowers and wildlife and skirting granite peaks which seem to encircle the world. Convenient pull-offs and interpretive signage and brochures help visitors understand the mysterious forces that shaped this uncommon land and the tireless efforts of those who sought to preserve it. The Albright Visitor Center at Mammoth Hot Springs—one of seven exhibit sites in the park and the only one open all year—has exhibits on the park's natural and human history.

Yellowstone's five entrances lead to 370 miles of public roads that eventually join the Grand Loop Road, which takes you to many of the park's distinctive natural wonders. One of them is the world's best-known geyser—Old Faithful—which erupts every hour or so. Nearly as well known is the Old Faithful Inn, a massive, turn-of-the-century log structure built in 1904 next to the geyser. The inn remains one of the finest examples in the world of architecture indigenous to its region.

The 110-mile shoreline of Yellowstone Lake offers ample opportunities for viewing wildlife and waterfowl and angling for elusive lake trout. The grandeur of the 24-mile-long Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone stops many visitors in their tracks, and the more adventuresome check out the park's 1,000 miles of hiking trails and 900 miles of horse trails.

There is an admission fee. You can contact Yellowstone National Park by calling (307) 344-7381, website www.nps.gov/yell. The Wyoming Division of Tourism is on I-25 at College Drive in Cheyenne, (307) 777-7777 or (800) 225-5996.


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Photo: PhotoDisc
Image: Photo: PhotoDisc