yellowstone · what made yellowstone stand out was the extravaganza of geysers and hot springs. the...

Yellowstone NATIONAL PARK

with photos by:

MICHAEL MELFORDTOM MURPHYROBBIE GEORGESERGIO LANZA CASADOTERRY DONNELLYMICHAEL S. LEWISRAYMOND GEHMAN

GRAND PRISMATIC SPRINGPHOTO BY SERGIO LANZA CASADO

YELLOWSTONE:Location: Wyoming, Idaho, and MontanaEstablished: March 1, 1872Size: 2,221,766 acres

Yellowstone is a geo-

logical smoking gun that illustrates how violent the Earth can be. One event overshadows all others: Some 640,000 years ago, an area many miles square at what is now the center of the park suddenly exploded. In minutes the landscape was devastated. Fast-mov-ing ash flows covered thousands of square miles. At the center only a smol-dering caldera remained, a collapsed crater 45 by 30 miles. At least two other cataclysmic events preceded this one. Boiling hot springs, fumaroles, mud spots, and geysers serve as reminders that another could occur.

“The center of Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring steams at 199° Fahrenheit (93° Cel-sius), too hot for the multicol-ored bacteria clustering on the cooler perimeter. But dead center is no dead zone: Billions of organisms called thermo-philes flourish in the scalding water.”

OLD FAITHFULPHOTO BY TOM MURPHY


Yellowstone, how-ever,

is much more than hot ground and gushing steam. Located astride the Continental Divide, most of the park occupies a high plateau surrounded by mountains and drained by several rivers. Park boundaries enclose craggy peaks, alpine lakes, deep canyons, and vast forests. In 1872, Yellowstone be-came the world’s first national park, the result of great foresight on the part of many people about our eventual need for the solace and beauty of wild plac-es.

“Vapor rises from Old Faith-ful, one of Yellowstone’s most popular attractions. Not the largest or the most regular of the park’s geysers, Old Faithful erupts more frequently, with each blast expelling between 3,700 to 8,400 gallons (14,000 to 32,000 liters) of boiling water.”

YELLOWSTONE BISON IPHOTO BY DAN WESTERGREN


In early years, what made Yellowstone stand out was the extravaganza of geysers and hot springs. The wild landscape and the bi-son, elk, and bears were nice but, after all, America was still a pioneer country filled with scenic beauty and animals.

“Nomadic grazers, bison roam Yellowstone National Park’s grassy plateaus in summer and spend winter near warm ther-mal pools or in the northern section of the park. The huge animals use their heads like a plow to push snow aside in search of food.”

UPPER GEYSER BASINPHOTO BY MICHAEL MELFORD


During the summer of 1988,

fire touched many sections of the park, in some areas dramatically changing the appearance of the landscape. Yet not one major feature was destroyed. The geysers, waterfalls, and herds of wildlife are still here. Many places show no impact at all, while those that are regenerating benefit both vegetation and animal life. Side by side, burned areas and nonburned areas provide an intriguing study in the causes and ef-fects of fire in wild places. Yellowstone has witnessed bigger natural events than this and may well again.

“Yellowstone National Park’s mile-long (1.6-kilometer-long) Upper Geyser Basin contains the world’s greatest concen-tration of hot springs and gey-sers. In the entire park, which spreads out over parts of Wy-oming, Idaho, and Montana, there are more than 10,000 hydrothermal features—half of all such features in the world.”

GRAY WOLVESPHOTO BY ROBBIE GEORGE


As the West was settled,

however, Yellowstone’s importance as a wildlife sanctuary grew. The list of park animals is a compendium of Rocky Mountain fauna: elk, bison, mule deer, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, moose, pronghorn, coy-otes, mountain lions, beaver, trumpeter swans, eagles, ospreys, white pelicans, and more.

“Originally native to the area, gray wolves in Yellowstone were killed off as part of “pred-ator control” practices, and by the 1970s no wolves were known to be living in the park. A controversial reintroduction program has been largely suc-cessful..”

YELLOWSTONE ELKPHOTO BY RAYMOND GEHMAN


Of far greater concern to environmentalists than the fires are the impact of the increasing numbers of visitors, the threatened grizzly bear population, and, on nearby lands, the planned development of natural resource projects. Cooperative man-agement between the park and the six forests that make up the greater Yel-lowstone ecosystem is essential if wild-life and thermal features are to survive.

“Elk are the most abundant large mammals in Yellowstone National Park, numbering some 30,000 in the summer. Paleon-tological evidence shows that the animals have been living on Yellowstone land for at least a thousand years..”

YELLOWSTONE BOBCATPHOTO BY ROBBIE GEORGE


The most common wildcat in North America, the bobcat is named for its short, bobbed tail. They are medium-sized cats and are slightly smaller but similar in appearance to their cousin, the lynx. Their coats vary in color from shades of beige to brown fur with spotted or lined markings in dark brown or black.

“A bobcat slinks through the snow in Yellowstone, which protects many species in its role as wildlife sanctuary. Among them are elk, bison, mule deer, grizzlies, black bears, and mountain lions..”

YELLOWSTONE BISON IIPHOTO BY TERRY DONNELLY


Bison are the larg-est mammal in North America. Male bison (called bulls) weigh up to 2,000 pounds and stand 6 feet tall, while fe-males (called cows) weigh up to 1,000 pounds and reach a height of 4-5 feet.

“Nomadic grazers, bison roam Yellowstone National Park’s grassy plateaus in summer and spend winter near warm ther-mal pools or in the northern section of the park. The huge animals use their heads like a plow to push snow aside in search of food.”

LOWER YELLOWSTONE FALLSPHOTO BY MICHAEL S. LEWIS


As the Yellowstone river flows north from Yellowstone Lake, it leaves the Hayden Valley and plung-es first over Upper Yellowstone Falls and then a quarter mile (400 m) down-stream over Lower Yellowstone Falls, at which point it then enters the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which is up to 1,000 feet (304 m) deep.

“The center of Yellowstone’s GThe Lower Falls of the Yellow-stone River drop a stunning 308 feet (94 meters) to the canyon floor below—twice as far as Niagara Falls. The Yellow-stone begins south of the park, traveling more than 600 miles (965 kilometers) before it emp-ties into the Missouri River in North Dakota. It is the longest undammed river in the conti-nental U.S.”

GREAT FOUNTAIN GEYSERPHOTO BY MICHAEL MELFORD


DID YOU KNOW?Most of the park rests atop a slumber-ing volcano that erupted half a million years ago and is showing signs of re-newed activity. (Note: No eruption is expected in the near future.)

There are more geysers and hot springs here than anywhere else on Earth.

“America’s first national park, Yellowstone is home to wildlife from bears to bison and geo-logical stunners such as hot springs and geysers. The Great Fountain Geyser, pictured here, erupts every 9 to 15 hours, shooting water up to 220 feet (67 meters) high.”

yellowstone · what made yellowstone stand out was the extravaganza of geysers and hot springs. the...

Documents