National Parks:
Yellowstone National Park

Wyoming -- Yellowstone National Park encompasses 2.2 million acres. Preserved within the park are grizzly bears, wolves, herds of free-ranging bison and elk, outstanding mountain wildlands, and two-thirds of the world's geysers. Yellowstone's human history dates back more than 12,000 years. The legacy of American Indian use, early park management, and the development of park concessions is preserved in the park's museum, library, and archival collections, archeological sites, and historic buildings. Visitors to the park enjoy seeing Old Faithful Geyser, viewing wildlife, visiting the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, hiking in the backcountry, and participating in winter activities.

On August 25, 2003, the National Park Service  commemorated the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Roosevelt Arch. The cornerstone for the arch was laid in a ceremony attended by then-President Theodore Roosevelt on April 24, 1903. The event recognized the arch's cultural and historical significance, including its importance in historic tourism and transportation systems at the park's first entrance. The arch features perhaps the most quoted architectural statement in the National Park Service, "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people," a passage from Yellowstone National Park's organic act.

DID YOU KNOW

• Yellowstone National Park, the world's first, was authorized by an act of Congress in 1872.
• Yellowstone lies within one of the world's largest volcanic calderas, and is comprised primarily of a high, forested, volcanic plateau that is traversed by the Continental Divide.
• The park receives 3 million total recreation visits annually.
• The largest concentration of geysers in the world is in the Upper Geyser Basin in the Old Faithful area.

DON'T MISS ATTRACTIONS

• Yellowstone's unparalleled array of hydrothermal features--geysers, hot springs, mudpots, and steam vents--provide evidence of the active volcano beneath our feet. In the 40 miles between Mammoth Hot Springs and Old Faithful, you'll see travertine terraces, at Mammoth Hot Springs, acidic features at Norris Geyser Basin, mudpots and geysers at Fountain Paint Pot, giant hot springs at Midway Geyser Basin, plus Biscuit and Black Sand basins near Old Faithful. West Thumb Geyser Basin is 17 miles east of Old Faithful; Mud Volcano is north of Yellowstone Lake.
• The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River extends from just south of Canyon Village north to Tower Junction. The most famous and spectacular section, including the Upepr and Lower Falls, is seen from overlooks along the North and South Rim roads near the Canyon Village area. The northernmost extent of the canyon is visible from Tower Fall and Calcite Springs overlooks, south of Tower Junction.
• Yellowstone Lake is the largest high elevation lake (above 7,000 feet) in the Western Hemisphere. It has 110 miles of shoreline and is approximately 400 feet deep at its deepest spot. With the Absaroka Mountains as a stunning backdrop, this area offers boating, fishing, hiking, and wildlife viewing, and hydrothermal features.
• Fort Yellowstone served as headquarters of the U.S. Army during its administration of Yellowstone National Park from 1886-1918. It was the military's longest and most extensive presence in the national parks. The principles and policies the administrators developed would impact the emerging conservation and national park movements in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Designated a National Historic Landmark this summer, the fort is at Mammoth Hot Springs. It is open for self-guiding tours.
• People have been visiting Yellowstone for more than 11,000 years. As recently as the 1800s, Native Americans crossed the Yellowstone Plateau in search of buffalo, medicinal plants, and other resources. You can visit such other historic sites such as Fishing Bridge Museum, Norris Geyser Basin Museum, Obsidian Cliff, Old Faithful Inn and Historic District, Roosevelt Lodge Historic District, and the Roosevelt Arch.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PRIORITIES

Recent travelers through the town of Gardiner at Yellowstone National Park's north entrance will have noticed the construction of a new museum, library, and archives collection storage facility. This new facility is the Yellowstone Heritage and Research Center, and it will house the park's priceless collection of artifacts (including original Thomas Moran paintings, photographs by William H. Jackson, historic hotel furnishings, fossils, and other items), archives (2,500 linear feet of historic documents and nearly 90,000 photographic prints and negatives) and a research library containing about 20,000 titles (including a collection of rare books and manuscripts) that have been stored in the basement of the Albright Visitor Center. This new facility is being built to meet the standards of the NPS and the National Archives and Records Administration.

Other projects are underway at Yellowstone National Park, including the planning for a new Old Faithful Visitor Education Center, maintenance of 466 miles of roads and 1,000 miles of trails, and housing improvements. Across the National Park System, the priority President Bush and the National Park Service have placed on improving facilities and historic structures, maintaining trails and roads, and protecting natural resources is improving conditions in the parks and providing better services for the visiting public.

Source: National Park Service