Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United states and widely regarded as the first national park of the world as well. According to a study, Archaeologists have found evidence of human activity in the Yellowstone park that dates back to atleast 11,000 years. Around 2.1 million years ago, Yellowstone erupted and covered over 5,000 square miles with ash. About 6,000 times the volume of material ejected from Mount St. Helens in 1980. It's among the largest volcanic eruptions known to mankind. Yellowstone is still very much active and there are chances of eruptions probably in next thousand of years.
Yellowstone National Park - First National Park in the World
Also Read: Glacier National Park - World’s First International Peace Park
- The park is known for its unique wildlife and geothermal features.
- The Yellowstone National Park is spreaded in three US states(Wyoming, Idaho and Montana) with most of the area lies within the Wyoming state.
- In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed Yellowstone National Park Protection Act to established the park as a national park.
- In 1978, Yellowstone was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone.
- Today, there are around 26 Native American tribes connected to this Park.
- The park is spreaded around 2 million acres of area.
- since 1918, Yellowstone is managed and protected by National Park Service .
- The park has five entrances. All of them are easily accessible through loop road.
- Fauna of the park includes more than 285 species of birds and over 65 species of mammals.
- Yellowstone national park has long been a refuge for America's native animals with success story of the restoration of mighty Bison.
- Today, Yellowstone is home to the world's largest remaining wild herd with most of the population concentrated on Hayden Valley region.
- Other famous fauna located in the park are grizzly bears and wolves.
- Yellowstone National Park has one of the world's largest petrified forests, trees which were long ago buried by ash and soil and transformed from wood to mineral materials.
- The main central attraction of this park is the giant reserve of magma that lies below.
- One of the very famous natural feature of the park is the gushing of thousands of gallons of hot water every hour or so. This is also called old Faithful here. The old faithful erupts around 17 times a day.
- Steamboat geyser here is the biggest geyser in the World in terms of water shooting height.
- There are over 10,000 thermal features in the Yellowstone including geysers, hot springs, mud pots and steam vents.
- One of the best place to witness the Geothermal extravagant activity is at the Grand Prismatic Spring. It is located just 25 miles from the park west entrance.
- Just south of Gardiner is the Mammoth Hot Springs. It carries minerals which solidifies into ever changing limestone terraces.
- The Yellowstone Caldera is the largest volcanic system in North America.
- The first official funded expedition of the park was done in the year 1871 under the leadership of Ferdinand Hayden.
- Thomas Moran is the first artist that created Yellowstone painting. He made over 30 watercolor painting of the region, depicting various parts of the region in great detail.
- Norris geyser basin has the ability to produce toxic gases and emissions which can severely harm the park ecosystem.
- Yellowstone lake is the heart of the park and is most famous for all sorts of recreational activity.
- Fed by Yellowstone lake, Yellowstone river is another breath taking beauty of the park which gets plummet 300 feet to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
- One of the best places to enjoy the natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park is the Artist Point. One can sit and marvel the immense and long lasting beauty of the park from here.
- Pebble Creek is another fantastic place for camping and picnic activities.
- The dense tree in Lomar valley and the Snowy mountains gives the charismatic feeling of nature.
- Every year million of visitors comes to visit this unique natural park.
- Seismic activity is closely monitored to ensure the safety of park visitors.
- The pristine land of Yellowstone national park gives an inspiration to conserve the wildlife and diversity of our planet.