OLD FAITHFUL - YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
YELLOWSTONE FOR A GREAT VACATION
Founded in 1872, Yellowstone is the second largest National Park in the USA and is the flagship of the National Parks Service. Located in Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho, the Park covers an area of 3,427 square miles or a massive 2,221,766 acres. With its scenic lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges, its diverse wildlife and unique geothermal features, this region is a mammoth tourist attraction.
Paved roads provide easy access to all the major lakes, waterfalls and the spectacular geothermal sites. Half of the world’s such phenomena are in Yellowstone because Lake Yellowstone is centred over the Yellowstone Caldera. The Caldera is technically an active volcano having erupted several times in the last two million years. The odds on it happening during your visit are pretty long!! The park has an estimated 10,000 thermal sites. Of these only 300 are actual geysers. The remainder are steaming pools, hissing fumaroles, bubbling mud pots or warm seeps. Most of the geysers are small and barely reach ten feet in height. The best known is probably “Old Faithful” which erupts every 40-90 minutes and “Steamboat Geyser” which is the largest in the world.
Yellowstone is home to over 60 species of mammals. These include the endangered gray wolf, lynx and grizzly bears. Others are bison (buffalo), black bear, elk, moose deer, mountain goat, bighorn sheep and mountain lion. To protect the elk, the US Government virtually eliminated wolves between 1914 and 1935. The policy was reversed in the 1990’s and Mackenzie wolves were introduced from Canada. An estimated 600 Grizzly bears live in the Park together with some 30,000 elk. There are small numbers of mountain lions and wolverines. 18 species of fish live in Yellowstone together with reptiles and amphibians. In the 311 species of birds the Common Loon, Harlequin Duck, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagles are a special concern in view of their rarity.
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is the finest feature of the Park. 800-1300 feet deep and 20 miles long, its rim is encircled by walking trails. If you have the stamina the Mount Washburn Trail is the one to take. From its summit you can see the whole Park. In all, the national Parks Service maintains 9 Visitor Centres. Its responsibilities also include historical structures including the Old Faithful Inn (1904) and Fort Yellowstone.
There are over a hundred lakes and thousands of miles of streams in Yellowstone and 7 varieties of game fish live in the waters. There is no best time to fish as each month of the short fishing season offers different styles. The best spots are the Firehole, Gibbon, Madison, Lewis Rivers and the Lakes in June.
For Campers there are 12 Campgrounds with over 2000 campsites. These are operated on a first come basis and tend to fill quickly in Spring and at the height of summer.
For the Inner Man there are numerous eating places in the Park. Dining facilities are available, ranging from fine restaurants to snack bars and cafeteria.
With its unique geothermal sites, diverse scenery and wildlife, Yellowstone is in the top three of US National Parks and well worth a family visit. The other 2,000,000 visitors who come every year cannot be wrong. (Check out the live webcam of Old Faithful on this site. )
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