Yellowstone: A Land of Mystery and a World of Wonder
Yellowstone National Park is America’s first national park, established in 1872. It has more hot springs, geysers, and other thermal features than anywhere in the world. There is also the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This canyon is a deep gorge with a bright copper color, which is widely believed to have given the park its name. The Yellowstone Lake and Gallatin River are also main attractions at the park.
Yosemite Park covers an area roughly 3,500 sq. miles in size and includes three different states within it’s borders. The park is wonderfully diverse from one border to the next, from wide-open valley meadows with steaming geysers and flowing rivers to forest covered mountains and jagged canyons, Yellowstone is anything but ordinary. Lower Yellowstone Falls descends from the Canyon Rhyolite lava flow, and is nearly twice as high as Niagara.
The park is open year-round, and each season brings it’s own unique atmosphere and activities. However July and August are by far the most popular months to visit Yellowstone. Summer temperatures are generally 70 to 80-degrees, cooling off considerably at night. Spring and Fall temps vary from 30 – 60 degrees dropping into the single digits at night. Winter can get very cold with daytime temps hovering between 0 and 20 degrees and nights dropping below zero. The higher the elevation, the lower the temperature and the more snow, especially in the mountain ranges surrounding the park.
More than 10,000 thermal features have been discovered in Yellowstone National Park. Old Faithful Geyser is the most famous. It erupts about every hour and a half from the Upper Geyser Basin, which has the most geothermal activity in the park. There are more than 300 other geysers throughout Yellowstone, making up two-thirds of those found on earth.
Other geothermal wonders include many multi-colored hot springs such as the Grand Prismatic Spring. Which is one of the largest thermal springs on the planet, with striking colors and features. Mammoth Hot Springs too is a popular destination in Yellowstone. This area features several unique features like the mammoth hot springs terraces as well as hot springs along the river where you can soak and relax. Yellowstone National Park has even hotter natural features including bubbling mudpots and fumaroles that emit boiling steam and gases from below the earth.
The Yellowstone River flows through a portion of the park and is responsible for another one of Yellowstone’s most popular attractions, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This impressive canyon was carved from the rock and gravel by the Yellowstone River, and is nearly 900 feet deep and a half mile wide. It is believed that the golden colored rocks on the sidewalls of the canyon, caused by iron compounds in the rock which rusted under heat, is where the name “Yellowstone” came from.
There is abundant plant and wildlife at Yellowstone National Park, due to the variety of environments here. A large majority of the park is forested making it the perfect habitat for a variety of birds. There is also a large percentage of larger mammals that have made the park their home including bison, elk, moose and bear. There also are more than 1,350 native plant species. The forests are made up of a combination of spruce, fir, aspen, and pine trees. An abundance of wildflowers bloom in the spring and summer.
Yellowstone National Park has what it takes to satisfy your lust for adventure. More than eleven-hundred miles of trails exist inside the for your hiking, biking and horseback riding fun. Water sports are popular because of the park’s many lakes and rivers. Yellowstone Lake and Lewis Lake are popular places for boating. Many rivers including the Madison, Yellowstone, and Gallatin Rivers are where fishers and anglers catch varieties of trout. There are companies near the park that offer whitewater rafting and scenic float trips. Visitors also enjoy kayaking, canoeing, and paddling on the park’s waterways.
Yellowstone National Park offers many fun winter activities as well. It is a famous cross-country skiing location, and there are numerous groomed trails in prime locations around the park. Snowmobiles are a primary way people get around the park in the winter, and snowmobile rentals are widely available. Snowcoach guided tours of the park are also very popular. There are also several downhill ski-resorts within the area where you can perfect your carves on your choice of easy, intermediate and double diamond runs.
Yellowstone’s unique landscape, wildlife and unusual geothermal features have made it one of America’s and the worlds most beloved national parks. It is a place of mystery, wonder and adventure which attracts over 3million visitors each ear.
To plan your Yellowstone National Park vacation, visit: www.NationalParkReservations.com/yellowstone.htm and check out Resorts 360 to learn how you can turn your national park travels into lucrative income and tax breaks!
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Ahhh, Yellowstone. I was there in the early fall of 2007, and it is definitely very high on my list of favorite places. I plan to stop back by there on my motorcycle ride to Glacier National Park this next July.