Help Raise $100,000 for the National Park Foundation

“Again and again amid the calmest, stillest scenery you will be brought to a standstill hushed and awestruck before phenomenon wholly new to you.”

— John Muir,
preservationist

Yellowstone National Park

Located in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, America’s first national park encompasses 3,472 square miles of mountains, lakes, rivers, canyons, forests and meadows — a sprawling landscape bigger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.

An Extraordinary Setting

Created in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is the biggest intact ecosystem in the Northern Hemisphere, outside of Alaska and Canada. Its more than 10,000 geothermal features — geysers, hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles — make up the most diverse collection of such elements in the world. The pristine environment is home to almost 60 species of mammals, including the gray wolf, lynx and grizzly bear.

Most Famous Feature

Old Faithful. Contrary to its name, this granddaddy of geysers does not erupt on a strict schedule. The time lapse between eruptions can last from 45 minutes to nearly two hours, but the average interval is 74 minutes.

Best-Kept Secret

The Yellowstone volcano is still active, as evidenced by the constant geothermal activity (witness Old Faithful) and the 1,000 to 3,000 earthquakes that occur each year. But visitors needn’t get steamed up about a potential lava shower: Scientists believe it will be at least 1,000 years before the next major eruption.