As first National Park in the world, Yellowstone has been astounding tourists and visitors for over a century. People from all over the world come to see the stunning landscape, amazing wildlife, and the famous geysers and hot springs. Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone area for over 11,000 years. In more modern times, the Shoshone, Crow, Bannock, and other tribes lived in the area. Explorers and trappers began living on and surveying the land in the mid-1800s. From the mid-1870s to 1916, the area was protected and controlled by the U.S. Army, who built a post called Fort Yellowstone, which serves as the park headquarters. Yellowstone is made up of lots of different types of terrains, which provide visitors ample opportunities of things to do during their visits. Geysers and hot springs are some of the most popular attractions in the park, but hiking to waterfalls, lakes, and lookout points are always fantastic as well.
Fast Facts about Yellowstone:
Year established as (the first!) National Park:1872
Visitors in 2015: 4,097,710
Size: 3,468 square miles
Largest hot spring in the United States: Grand Prismatic Spring, located in Yellowstone, 370 ft in diameter and 170 ft deep
Average temperature of hot springs:120 degrees Fahrenheit
Fun fact #1: Two-thirds of the world's geysers are in Yellowstone.
Fun fact #2: Yellowstone is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Learn more about Yellowstone National Park at the National Park Service website! Learn more about the Capturing the Canyons: Artists in the National Parks exhibition! Top image: By Jim Peaco, Yellowstone National Park Service Photo