Intro
Yellowstone National Park is located in the USA and it spreads over three U.S. states: Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. It is known to be the world’s first national park and the among first American national parks to be inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Yellowstone is famous for its numerous natural attractions.
Geography
Yellowstone National Park rests on the Yellowstone Plateau, a volcanic field almost completely surounded by ranges of Middle Rocky Mountains. The Plateau is extremely popular spot for tourists, due to the breathtaking landscape.
Lakes and rivers cover around 5% of the area, with Yellowstone Lake being the largest water area. The rivers flowing through the park have carved three stunningly beautiful canyons, one of which was named after its „big brother“ – the Grand Canyon. Speaking of water bodies, the park has a plentitude of divine waterfalls, the highest being the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River (308 ft).
The park is well-known for its geysers, the largest of which is Steamboat Geyser. However, the most popular one is Old Faithful Geyser, due to its eruption frequency – one eruption every hour and a half!
Wildlife
Apart from exquisitely diverse and authentic flora, the park has an amazingly vast range of different animal species. The wildlife tourists are mostly attracted to are: bears (especially grizzly bears), badgers, wolves, bison, elk, moose.
The number and diversity of wildlife a visitor gets to see is all a matter of luck. Nevertheless, according to local rangers and zoologists, the animals are most easily seen early in the morning or in evening, when they are eating. In order not to disturb the animals, viewing through binoculars or lenses is highly suggested. Approaching them closer than 100 yards (bears) and 25 yards (other species) is both forbidden and dangerous.
Important notice for future tourists: FEEDING THE YELLOWSTONE ANIMALS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED!
A fed animal is a dead animal – good or bad, the park service will destroy animals that are habituated to human contact and food.
Yellowstone in numbers:
It was established in 1872.
It covers the area of 2,219,789 acres.
There are 5 entrances to Yellowstone National Park.
It has over 290 waterfalls.
Yellowstone contains approximately one-half of the world’s hydrothermal features.
It has over 1700 different species of trees.
It has approximately 3 million visitors per year, and around 10,000 per day.
Things to do
Apart from sightseeing and hiking, there is a lot of fun stuff to do when in Yellowstone National Park. One of the major visitor activities is fly fishing, which has been allowed for more than a century because, believe it or not, it can enhance preserving native species and natural environment!
While in water, why not try experiencing a whole different level of sightseeing through boating? Non-motorized boating is allowed on most of the lakes and one river.
If you are an adventurer and a skillful skier, cross country skiing and snowshoeing through intact wilderness will be a real treat.
If you are a horseback riding fan, you shouldn’t by any chance miss two-hours long horse rides at Tower Roosevelt and Canyon. Due to high interest, the visitors are required to make reservations.
Some other available activities are also camping, picnicking, bicycling.
The best time to visit
Generally, it depends on what the visitors are interested in. If you plan a family trip to the park, the best season for family activities is Summer. In Spring, the flora and the fauna become colorful and lively, and the weather is changeable and unpredictable – one day it can snow, the other it can be scorching! Fall and Winter are the quiet seasons. Visiting the park in Winter is recommended only if you can afford a snowcoach or snowmobile tour.
