Yellowstone National Park, located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, extends into Montana and Idaho. Established on March 1, 1872, it is widely considered the first national park in the world. The park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles, making it larger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
Yellowstone is renowned for its geothermal features, including the iconic Old Faithful Geyser. Old Faithful erupts approximately every 90 minutes, a rare consistency among geysers. The park contains roughly half of the world's geothermal features, with over 10,000 examples including hot springs, mudpots, and fumaroles.
The Yellowstone Caldera is a supervolcano and one of the largest active volcanic systems in the world. It last erupted about 640,000 years ago, forming the Yellowstone Caldera. A lesser-known fact is that the caldera has experienced three major eruptions in the past 2.1 million years. These eruptions were thousands of times more powerful than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
Yellowstone is also home to the Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest in the world. The spring is famous for its vibrant colors, which result from microbial mats that produce varying hues of green, red, and orange.
The park's diverse ecosystems make it a crucial conservation area. Yellowstone houses the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states, including species such as grizzly bears, wolves, and herds of bison and elk. The Yellowstone bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the U.S. The reintroduction of gray wolves in 1995 has been a significant ecological success, helping to balance the park's ecosystems.
Yellowstone is also rich in cultural history. It has been inhabited by indigenous peoples for at least 11,000 years. The Sheepeater Cliff is named after the Shoshone tribe, who utilized the park's resources long before European settlers arrived.
In terms of scientific research, Yellowstone is a living laboratory. The park's geothermal features have provided insights into extremophiles, organisms that thrive in extreme conditions, which has implications for the search for life on other planets.
The park's infrastructure includes the Yellowstone Lake Hotel, which is the oldest hotel in any national park, dating back to 1891. Additionally, the Yellowstone River is the longest undammed river in the contiguous United States, flowing through the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which is approximately 20 miles long and up to 1,200 feet deep.
Yellowstone National Park continues to be a symbol of the natural beauty and geological wonder of the United States, attracting millions of visitors from around the world each year.