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Published: September 12th 2008
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Yellowstone National Park
The grand entrance (Roosevelt Arch) at the northern entry point into the park. Thanks to this, Nickey got to go into Montana!! As we had already come a long way from our starting point back at Grant Village campground, and we still had a lot left to see that we hadn't gotten to, we opted to stay Tuesday night at another place, closer to the sights that we wanted to see the next day: Canyon Campground. We had originally planned to leave Wednesday 09/03, but since there were still so many sights left, we adjusted our plans to get to see them, since we were already here and might not get back for awhile. Tuesday night we also got to attend another ranger program. This particular program was about the photographer William Henry Jackson. He was one of the artists, along with Thomas Moran, brought along with the Hayden Expedition in 1871, in order to provide proof to Congress that Yellowstone was worth designating as the first National Park . Jackson's photos were successful and in 1872 Yellowstone was designated as the 1st National Park. Some of you may already be aware, but Nickey has been collecting postcards of some of the national parks. The particular ones she is after are reproductions of those old Works Progress Administration posters that were created around
Yellowstone
Lower Falls is 308 ft. tall. Can you see the little green streak at the top of the falls on the left side? That is actually a crevice in the rock under the falls where water is channeled, preventing the white foam from appearing until further down the waterfall. the 1930s to get the American public interested in their country's natural wonders. Well, it so happens that Yellowstone had two posters created about it; one was Old Faithful, and the other was the Lower Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We had already seen Old Faithful, so Nickey really wanted to get over to the Lower Falls, and they were right next to Canyon Village.
So Wednesday morning we headed over to the Lower Falls, which were just a short way down the road, back towards Norris Junction. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (which is a river, as well as the park) is magnificent. In fact, it was the park which was named after the river, not the other way around. The river was named by the Indians after the color of the rocks in the canyon. The canyon walls are comprised of an igneous rock known as rhyolite. The rhyolite in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is colored beautiful yellows and reds and pinks. The entire area used to be full of geysers and geothermal hotspots, and the intense heat caused chemical changes in the rhyolite, making it softer than the unmodified rhyolite.
Yellowstone
This is the Upper Falls, just around the river bend from the Lower Falls. Its height is 109 ft. The iron in the rhyolite began to rust and form iron oxides from the presence of heat and moisture, resulting in the brilliant reds and oranges. This softer, modified rhyolite began to erode faster than the unchanged rock, being carried away by the flow of the river, and forming massive waterfalls where the soft rock met the harder rock. Upper and Lower Falls are prime examples of this, being 109 and 308 feet high, respectively.
Our second stop, after the falls, was Norris Geyser Basin, wherein lies the tallest geyser in the park: Steamboat Geyser. It has been known to shoot water as high as 380 feet. It is actually three times taller than Old Faithful. But, Steamboat is not nearly as faithful in its eruptions. The time between eruptions range from four days to 50 years. Needless to say, we did not see it erupt. We did get to see little bursts , though. Norris Geyser Basin is also the oldest and hottest area in Yellowstone. Tests have revealed that the temperature reaches 400 degrees just 265 feet below the surface. They actually have shut down this area when the ground gets too hot to walk on. Norris
Yellowstone
The falls are formed where the hard rhyolite rock meets softer rhyolite, as the softer rhyolite erodes its carried away by the Yellostone River, forming the falls. Geyser Basin is located at the junction of "several fissures in the Earth's crust." In addition to emitting higher temperatures, the weak crust of the Earth also makes this area more prone to earthquakes. One other place that we visited while at Norris was the Emerald Spring (not to be confused with Emerald Pool, from yesterday). Because this area is so hot, the majority of the springs are clear blue, due to lack of microorganisms, but Emerald Spring is an exception. It is bright green, due to the presence of sulphur deposited on the rocks below the water. When we could get a good look of it through the steam, it was a brilliant green color!
We then headed north towards Mammoth Hot Springs, with a few stops along the way. First we stopped at Roaring Mountain. Appropriately named, the fumaroles (steam vents) that cover the mountain used to be heard from miles away. They are a little quieter today, but they still are a neat example of the variety of hydrothermal activity in Yellowstone. There are 4 main types of activity in Yellowstone: geysers, springs, fumaroles, and mud pots. We got to see all four. After Roaring Mountain
Yellowstone
They say that Yellowstone gets its name (thanks to the Indians) from the yellow colored rocks in this canyon area. we visited Sheepeater Cliff (sounds appetizing, huh?). This area is unique due to its columnar basalt rock formations. In the photos below, you can read the reason for their unique shape during the lava cooling process. This area was also known to house the Sheepeater Indians (hence the name), the only Indian tribe believed to live in Yellowstone year-round, living off the bighorn sheep. We then entered the Mammoth Hot Springs and the North Yellowstone Entrance area (home of Fort Yellowstone).
So, once the Hayden Expedition in 1871 was able to convince Congress to create the 1st National Park (that being Yellowstone, duh) next came how does one manage and run a National Park? Having no model to follow, the next few years in the park's history are trial and error attempts. There obviously was no National Park Service, as there were no parks, so the first people sent to Yellowstone, in order to protect the wildlife that was being hunted and the geological wonders that were being destroyed, was the U.S. Army in 1886. Their headquarters were at Mammoth Hot Springs. For the first 5 years they lived in tents, until they figured it would be beneficial to
Yellowstone
The colors in the hills are not caused by minerals,but by chemical changes in the rock from the intense heat that the Yellowstone volcano emits. build something a bit more permanent, hence the stone fortifications that remain today. Once the National Park Service was established in 1916, the buildings at Fort Yellowstone were turned over to this newly created agency. Many of the soldiers stationed here, joined the Park Service, in order to stay at Yellowstone.
After we got finished visiting Mammoth Hot Springs, we headed north to the great entrance that is Roosevelt Arch. As this happens to be in Montana, Nickey finally got to visit the Big Sky Country, albeit for the whole 30 minutes it took us to get gas and turn around. After this, we headed east to drive along the north end of the great loop, towards the Northeast Entrance. This included a petrified tree, the only remaining tree of a whole forest of petrified redwood trees, and many many buffalo. The redwood trees are proof (so the scientists say) that Yellowstone used to have a much different climate than it does today. There is only one left from the many visitors to the park in bygone days who would claim a piece as a souvenir, thus leaving no more for us. The lone tree sits inside a metal
Yellowstone
It's like a postcard! fence that is gated and chained off, so people don't steal it anymore. After the tree, we set off going east, running into a herd of buffalo on the road, another wildlife jam. Except this time, there were a ton of buffalo and they didn't seem to want to get off the road. They finally moved, letting us get on our way. And so, we headed out of Yellowstone and on to Cody, Wyoming and the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
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