Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park has the distinction of being the world's first national park. With an area of 3,472 sq mi (8,992 sq km), Yellowstone is the largest national park in the lower 48 states. This is an area larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Although primarily in Wyoming (91%), 7.6% of the park is in Montana and the remaining 1.4% is in Idaho.
John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803–1806, was probably the first white man to visit and report on the Yellowstone area. At that time the only Native Americans living year-round in the area were a mixed group of Bannock and Shoshone known as "sheepeaters." In 1859, the legendary trapper and explorer Jim Bridger, who had been reporting since the 1830s about the wonders of the region, led the first government expedition into the area. The discovery of gold in the Montana Territory in the 1860s brought more expeditions. In 1870, the Washburn-Langford-Doane expedition came to verify the reports about the wonders of the area. They spent four weeks naming the features, including Old Faithful, the most famous geyser in the world. Legend states that while the 19 members of this expedition sat around a campfire, reflecting on the beauty of the area, they came up with the idea of turning the region into a national park. The truth of the legend is debatable, yet there is no doubt that it was the lecturing and writing of these men that prompted the United States Geological Survey to send a follow-up group to the park in 1871. Reports and photographs from the U.S. Geological Survey expedition stimulated the drafting of legislation to create the first national park. Because of the prevalent utilitarian philosophy and the country's poor economic condition, the battle for the park was difficult and hard-fought. Eventually the park proponents were successful, and on March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the bill establishing the park.
A grizzly bear with its cubs in Yellowstone National Park. (National Park Service Harpers Ferry Center. Reproduced by permission.)Because Congress did not allocate any money for park maintenance or protection, the early years of the park were marked by vandalism, poaching, the deliberate setting of forest fires, and other destructive behaviors. Eventually, in 1886, the U.S. Army took responsibility for the park. They remained in the role of park managers until the National Park Service was formed in 1916.
Water covers about 10% of the park. The largest body of water is Yellowstone Lake, with a surface area of 136 sq mi (352 sq km). It is one of the largest, highest, and coldest lakes in North America. The park has one of the highest waterfalls in the United States (Lower Yellowstone Falls, 308 ft; 93.87 m) and the top three trout fishing streams in the world. Approximately 10,000 thermal features can be found in the park. In fact, there are more geysers (200–250) and hot springs in the park than in the rest of the world put together.
The park has a great abundance and diversity of wildlife. It has the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states. There are 58 species of mammals in the park, including two species of bears and seven species of ungulates. It is one of the last strongholds of the grizzly bear and is the only place where a bison herd has survived continuously since primitive times. Yellowstone is noted also for having the largest concentration of elk to be found anywhere in the world. Besides mammals, the park is home for 279 species of birds, 18 species of fish, five species of reptiles, and four species of amphibians.
Map of the Yellowstone ecosystem complex or biogeographical region, which extends far beyond the boundaries of the park. (McGraw-Hill Inc. Reproduced by permission.)However, one of the continuing difficulties at Yellowstone and other national parks is that Yellowstone is not a self-contained ecosystem. Its boundaries were established through a variety of political compromises, and lands around the park that once provided a buffer against outside events are being developed. Airsheds, watersheds, and animal migration routes extend far beyond park boundaries, yet they dramatically affect conditions within the park. Yellowstone is but one example of the need to manage entire biogeographical areas to preserve natural conditions within a national park.
Resources
Books
Frome, M. National Park Guide. 19th ed. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1985.
Other
Yellowstone Fact Sheet. National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior, 1992.
Organizations
Yellowstone National Park, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190-0168 (307) 344-7381, Email: yell_visitor_services@nps.gov, <http://www.nps.gov/yell>
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