Blogs from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States, North America - page 2

Once Andrew's parents made the decision to join us and learned my parents couldn't make it, they asked if it would be OK to invite Andrew's uncle and Andrew's brother's family to Yellowstone. We said yes, of course, and have been really excited to spend time with family. Andrew's parents and his Uncle Scott arrived to Lake Village last night in time to join us for dinner. We got to visit them at their cabin at the Lake Hotel. Their cabin is very cute, and I'd be happy staying there, but it's not as roomy as ours. We have a dining table in our Lake Lodge western cabin, whereas they have only a side table. However, theirs is a stand-alone cabin, whereas ours is connected to a few other units. So, there are advantages and disadvantages ... read more

The park was established by the U.S. Congress on March 1, 1872, as the country’s first national park. It is also generally considered to have been the first national park in the world, though some naturalists and others have argued that there is evidence that indicates that the creation of Yellowstone was predated by the creation of Bogd Khan Mountain National Park in Mongolia, which may date from as early as 1778. Yellowstone was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1976 and a World Heritage site in 1978 The Roosevelt Arch, built in the park’s Army era, is said to have been the idea of Hiram M. Chittenden of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He felt that the approach to the park was barren and lacked suitable grandeur. Park administrators and townspeople agreed, and plans ... read more

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http://www.heygo.com 22nd January Yellowstone Park - Mammoth Hot Springs Wow what a wonderful place to visit, from the onset the scenery was amazing and along with our guide Ashea we took the boardwalk together. Ashea had many anologies, one I particularly remembered was how fragile Earth was demonstrated by an egg. For hundreds of years, Shoshone and Bannock people collected minerals from Mammoth Hot Springs for white paint. These minerals contribute to the beautiful terrace structures, along with heat, water, and limestone. At Yellowstone each year, the rain and melted snow seeps into the earth. Cold to begin with, the water is quickly warmed by heat radiating from a partially molten magma chamber deep underground, the remnant of a cataclysmic volcanic explosion that occurred 600,000 years ago. After moving throughou... read more

Yellowstone is situated on an active volcano! Three major eruptions have occurred in the last 2.1 million years, the most recent only 650,000 years ago. Magma only 3-8 miles down provides the heat for the thermal features in Yellowstone. The Upper Geyser Basin, home of old faithful, is one of 3 large geyser basins along the Firehole River. We were there on a sunny day and we treated to eruptions from 3 other geysers in addition to Old Faithful. Along the many miles of boardwalk we passed numerous hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles (steam vents). At the north end of the park, the boiling water and steam travel to the surface through limestone, which dissolves to form a weak carbonic acid. When the hot water reaches the surface, calcium carbonate is deposited to form the ... read more