The Yellowstone National Park is the oldest in the world. Declared as a national park in March 1872 by the US Congress, it covers an area of over 3,470 square miles spanning the states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It boasts of natural phenomena such as geysers, canyons, waterfalls, and hotsprings. The park is home to a variety of fauna — grizzly bears, wolves, bison herds, antelopes, coyotes, elks and others. It also contains 1,700 species of wonderful flora — lodgepole pine, spruce, and fir trees are among those.
The name Yellowstone is attributed as early as 1802 to American Indians who were referring to the yellow sandstones along the banks of the Yellowstone River in Montana. It was the Native Americans who had long been inhabitants of this area. The first non-native American to arrive here was a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition name John Colter. He first described the area as “fire and brimstone” and many attribute his description to the delirium he suffered when he was wounded in a battle with the native dwellers. The emminent geologist F.V. Hayden is credited with setting up the park. His explorations and comprehensive reports, the large photographs of Henry Jackson and the illustrations of Tomas Moran was what led President Ulysses Grant to sign a bill declaring the area as what it is today.
To date, the Yellowstone National Park is the most popular national park in the country. Its natural wonders make it a popular destination for nature lovers and adventurous persons alike. When you plan on travelling to Yellowstone, you must think and act like a kid. Kids love things that are bright, colorful, bold, muddy, stinky, spouting, or spewing. The park has all of those and you can enjoy them with ranger guided tours in both summer and winter. In guided tours, you can enjoy adventure hikes, film showing on geology and cultural history of the place, or go fishing. There are camping areas, or you can enjoy boatrides, horseback riding and much much more.
Over 3 million people visit the Yellowstone Natural Park each year fortunately, there are numerous lodging available both in and around the Yellowstone area. In the area there are cabins and park lodges and outside there are cheap hotels, inns, guest ranches, resort hotels, and more. A visit to this place will befor sure the vacation of your life.
Claude Kinney shares various topics of interest ranging from health and beaty to travel destinations. Visit his website for more details on Yellowstone.
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