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Why Yellowstone
National Park
is special
This huge national park boasts three world class tourist draws:
 The
earth's biggest concentration of geothermal features.
The
majestic Grand Canyon of Yellowstone (see photo).
Free
roaming wildlife (including bears and bison).
Geothermal
features
 Yellowstone has hundreds of gushing geysers. The most famous one is Old
Faithful (named for its regularity). It erupts approximately every hour (though
not as reliably as it did when I first saw it decades ago).
Other
interesting geothermal features include bubbling mud pools, hot
springs, colorful limestone terraces, and steam spouting fumaroles.
Canyon & waterfall
Though
not as grand as the celebrated Grand Canyon of Arizona, the Grand Canyon of
Yellowstone is spectacular in its own right. The main canyon stunning. It is
several hundred meters (about 1200 feet) deep and its mighty Lower Falls (see
photo) plummets 94 meters (308 feet).
The
best viewing and photo taking month is May, when the water flow is strongest.
Sunny
early mornings and late afternoons optimize the setting by creating accentuating
shadows.
Artist
Point (aptly named) is the choice viewing spot.
Wildlife
The National Park is a protected habitat for bears, bison (American
buffalo), wolves, elk, to name but four of many types of wild beasts. You see
them along the roadside from your car.
Must sees
If you can only make a short visit, I recommend that you see and experience at
least these attractions:
Old
Faithful Geyser
Mud
pools (various locations)
Grand
Canyon (Yellowstone)
Norris
Geyser Basin
Hayden
or Lamar Valleys
 (for
wildlife, including bears)
Mammoth
Hot Springs
Tips & insights
July
and August are the two busiest months (be forewarned, traffic jams are common on
both the roads and the pedestrian sightseeing boardwalks).
Mid
to late September is the best all around time for a visit as the weather is
pleasant and the tourist count is relatively light.
The
least desirable season is winter. It can be quite cold and most roads
are snow blocked.
Yellowstone
annually draws roughly 3 million visitors.
The
national park is high in altitude. Its lowest point is about 2,000 meters (a
little over a
mile) above sea level. Its highest point is almost double that figure.
Yellowstone
is the world's first officially designated national park.
Yellowstone
is bliss for backpackers. It offers 1500 kilometers (almost a 1000 miles) of
trails and several hundred campsites, many in spectacular backcountry settings.
The
park is quite large. Yellowstone covers nearly 9,000 square meters (3500 square
miles) - and spreads into three northwest USA states (over 90% lies in Wyoming).
More
than a half million years ago most of the park area was one of the world's
biggest volcanoes. It exploded and its walls collapsed, creating a caldera basin
measuring roughly 50 kilometers wide by 70 kilometers (30 to 45 in miles).
Most
of the park sits on that caldera.
The
subterranean part of the volcano still exists. It manifests itself by generating
the heat responsible for creating the park's many geysers and other geothermal
features. It also produces Yellowstone's many earthquakes.
Geologists
say that volcano is now showing preliminary signs of emerging and erupting again
(though they believe that those events are unlikely to occur in our lifetimes).
View my other gold,
silver & bronze medal
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