Yellowstone is, for the most part, the world’s oldest national park, located in the US state of Wyoming and partly in the Idaho and Montana, covering an area of 8,983 square kilometers. The National Park was founded by the US Congress, and President Grant signed the Bill on the Yellowstone National Park 1872.
Yellowstone was the first national park in the United States, which is also regarded as the first national park in the world. Yellowstone is famous because of its wildlife and its diverse geothermal features, such as the Old Faithful geyser in the area, one of the park’s most popular attractions and possibly the world’s most famous geyser. The park contains several types of ecosystems and its nature is very diverse. The National Park area has canyons and waterfalls and is located on a super mountain. This volcano of the geologically active area is known as the Yellowstone Caldera.
The original Americans have lived in the Yellowstone area for at least 11,000 years. The first expeditions to the region were made only in the late 1860s, but there had been occasional visits by Caucasians in the early 19th century. The announcement of the area as a protected area was started soon after the launch of the study. The management of the National Park was initially directed to the Ministry of the Interior until the US Army was appointed as a supervisor for the region for 1886-1916. In 1917, the National Park was awarded to the National Park Service created the previous year. Hundreds of structures have been built in the area, protected by their architectural and historical significance.
Area and geology
The area of almost nine thousand square kilometers of Yellowstone National Park is covered in lakes, canyons, rivers and mountains. Lake Yellowstone is one of North America’s largest lakesides, located in the middle of the Yellowstone Caldera. The Caldera is an active volcano and at the same time the largest supercouple in the whole continent. The volcano has erupted over the last two million years, with a huge amount of power. The volcanic lava and rocks cover almost the entire Yellowstone area. The park is part of the broader Yellowstone ecosystem, the largest almost untouched ecosystem in the northern hemisphere. In 1978, Yellowstone was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Yellowstone National Park is one of the most popular national parks in the United States and a very popular tourist destination. Over 3.5 million visitors visit the area each year. The park offers a variety of activities such as hiking, camping, boating, fishing and mountaineering. There are more than 1,500 km of hiking trails. Roads were paved in order to reach the largest geothermal attractions as well as some lakes and waterfalls.
When the Yellowstone National Park was established, it was made due to the volcanic features and areas of the region’s geysers and hot springs. The wildlife in the area was not yet appreciated at that stage but was also widely hunted in the national park despite repeated prohibitions by its staff. The poaching was curbed only after the army took over the park in 1886. Since 1918, the US National Park Service has been responsible for protecting the park. In the first decade, the park was protected favorably by other animal species. The wolves in the area were destroyed during the 1910s and 1920s to maintain the park’s freeboard undamaged. The annual forest fires were also shut down because they were destructive to the forest. From the 1960s onwards, however, it was realized that conservation measures were mostly only harmful. Forest fires and predators were part of the natural ecosystem and kept the area in balance. Nowadays, the nature of the park is not being interfered with at all.