Fun Facts About Yellowstone National Park (2024)

FAQs

What are 5 fun facts about Yellowstone National Park? ›

Yellowstone National Park sits on top of a dormant volcano and is home to more geysers and hot springs than any other place on earth. Wonders abound at this truly unique national park, from sites like the Yellowstone Grand Canyon to wildlife like America's largest buffalo herd, grizzly bears, and wolves.

Yellowstone was established as the world's first national park by an act of Congress and signed into law on March 1, 1872, by President Ulysses S. Grant.

Yellowstone is 2,219,789 acres (8,983 km²; 3,468 sq mi) in area, larger than either of the states of Rhode Island or Delaware.

Instead, the name was attributed as early as 1805 to Native Americans who were referring to yellow sandstones along the banks of the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana, several hundred miles downstream and northeast of the Park.

Old Faithful is one of the most iconic symbols of Yellowstone and is likely to be at the top of your itinerary. This world-renowned geyser erupts every hour and a half, so make sure you plan accordingly and get a good viewing spot.

Yellowstone's geysers are known around the world, but the park's nearly 300 waterfalls may be its most underrated attraction. This is good news for visitors who would like to view some of these impressive cascades in relative solitude.

The most recent volcanic activity at Yellowstone consisted of rhyolitic lava flows that erupted approximately 70,000 years ago.

394′

Yellowstone Lake / Max depth

Subsequent lava flows filled in much of the caldera, and it is now measured at 30 x 45 miles. If you look at a modern park map, you can see the outline of the caldera (see white area). The Yellowstone “supervolcano” is a topic surrounded by much curiosity and—sometimes—speculation.

Are there 63 or 423 national parks? ›

Within the system, there are 63 sites that include “National Park” as part of their proper name such as Acadia, Everglades, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone. Though world-renowned for their grandeur and beauty, our national treasures encompass far more than these 63 sites.

Geologist Ferdinand Hayden directed the first scientific exploration of Yellowstone in 1871, leading directly to the founding of the world's first national park in the following year.

The Yellowstone National Park is scattered across three states. Wyoming takes the lion's share of Yellowstone as more than 95% of the park is situated there. A fraction of the park is situated in Idaho, and about 3% is located in Montana.

Living and working in Yellowstone is not for everyone, but Yellowstone can be the perfect landing spot for those who seek a simpler way of life. Live in Yellowstone! Seasonal employees have guaranteed on-site housing (shared dorm rooms or RV sites) that includes internet, utilities, and laundry.

An eruption lasts 1.5 to 5 minutes and expels 3,700–8,400 gallons (14,000–32,000 l) of boiling water, and reaches a height of 106–184 feet (30–55 m). Old Faithful Geyser has an average temperate of 169.7°F (76.5°C), an average pH of 9, and an average conductivity of 1972 uS/cm. Limited parking, especially 10 am-6 pm.

No, Yellowstone is not based on any real events or people that exist in real life. However, the creator of the show explained that the issues that are explored in the show are inspired by problems that exist in western mountain states in the US.

More than 60 mammals live in Yellowstone, The map shows the most likely places to see the big mammals and the checklist below the map gives more information. Remember what you see will vary with the weather, season, and behavior of the animals.