Yellowstone
National Park
 Canyons
inevitably capture the imagination and few match
the scale, grandeur and shear ruggedness of the
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The raging
torrent of the mighty Yellowstone River adds
drama and power to the view of this magnificent
place. The view from above the Lower Fall
captures a awesome power of the river as it
rushes away to meet the Missouri River in
Montana.
Cataclysmic events have created the magnificent
geology and world renowned geysers of
Yellowstone. Long before any recorded human
history in Yellowstone, a massive volcanic
eruption spewed an immense volume of ash that
covered all of the western U.S., much of the
Midwest, northern Mexico and some areas of the
eastern Pacific. The eruption dwarfed that of
Mt. St. Helens in 1980 and left a caldera 30
miles wide by 45 miles long. That culminating
event occurred about 640,000 years ago, and was
one of many processes that shaped Yellowstone
National Park--a region once rumored to be "the
place where hell bubbles up." Geothermal
wonders, such as Old Faithful, are evidence of
one of the world's largest active volcanoes.
These spectacular features befuddled the park's
earliest visitors, and helped lead to the
creation of the world's first national park.
Fantastic tales
from fur trappers described cauldrons of
bubbling mud and roaring geysers sending
steaming plumes skyward. Such stories made
their way back east prompting as series of
expeditions were sent to investigate. In
1871, Ferdinand Hayden led an expedition that
included artist Thomas Moran and photographer
William H. Jackson. They brought back
images that helped convince Congress that the
area known as Yellowstone needed to be protected
and preserved.
In 1872,
President Ulysses S. Grant signed the law
declaring Yellowstone to be forever "dedicated
and set apart as a public park or pleasuring
ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the
people."
The great
waterfalls of Yellowstone always capture my
imagination and offer splendid opportunities for
more photography.
Wyoming
|
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming |
