Yellowstone

Yellowstone Facts Page

What’s in a Name?
Historically, the origin of Yellowstone’s name has been attributed to the Native Americans who had lived in the area. Basically, the name comes from the Yellowstone River, which in turn gets its name from the yellow colored rocky cliffs located on its banks in the northern region of the park. The Minnetaree tribe used to call the river ‘Mi tsi a da zi’, meaning ‘Rock Yellow River’. This was translated to ‘Yellow Rock’ or ‘Yellow Stone’ by French fur trappers.

The First of It’s Kind
Established in 1872, Yellowstone is the world’s first national park.

Old Faithful and More
With more than 10,000 geysers, hot springs and fumaroles, Yellowstone is the largest concentration of hydrothermal features in the world.

Old Faithful is a cone geyser, and the most well-known geyser in Yellowstone National Park. The geyser was named in 1870 because of its consistent eruptions (that reach a height of 106-18 feet) that occur approximately 90 minutes apart. However, Old Faithful is not the tallest or largest geyser in the park. Over the years, the length of the intervals of the geyser have increased, but mathematicians and archaeologists now confirm that Old Faithful erupts exactly 65 minutes after an eruption that lasts less than 2.5 minutes, or 92 minutes after an eruption that lasts more than 2.5 minutes. Old Faithful is the most photographed geyser, but there are several other geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone Park that also offer fascinating eruptions.

Yellowstone Lake
Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park, and stands approximately 2375 miles above sea level. It is also the largest freshwater high altitude lake in North America. The geothermal area in the West Thumb of the lake is easily accessible from several trails, and offers some of the most breathtaking views of the park.

Volcano
Yellowstone rests on one of the largest active volcanoes in the world.

Wildlife Yellowstone is the only place in the lower 48 states that wild bison have survived continuously.

Yellowstone has the largest concentration of free-roaming wildlife in the lower 48 states and the global temperate zone. Wildlife viewing is best in the early morning or early to late evening. Yellowstone is home to the following species:

2 species of bears
Roughly 67 species of other mammals
322 species of birds
18 species of fish
5 threatened or endangered species, including bald eagle, grizzly bear, and lynx, whooping crane, gray wolf.

Rivers and Streams
More than 2,400 miles of streams flow through Yellowstone, providing some of the best fly fishing in the world.

Spectacular Features
Mammoth Hot Springs, located in the northern part of the park is one of the most interesting areas of the park. Here, water mixed with bicarbonate and calcium comes to the surface, where the carbon dioxide is released while the carbonate that remains combines with calcium, forming travertine, which forms into unusual formations and shapes.

One of the most spectacular features of the park is the deep canyon carved by the Yellowstone River as it flows through the area, which also creates a lovely waterfall with upper and lower sections, when it goes over high cliffs. It is known as the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River.

The Absaroka Range has the highest mountains in the Yellowstone National Park, which is located in the southwestern part of the park. The Eagle Peak, standing at 11,358 feet, is the highest in this range.