|
Location:
USA,
Wyoming, Yellowstone
Category:
National Park
Description:
View of the Old Faithful geyser in
Yellowstone National Park
Location Information:
Yellowstone National Park,
established by the U.S. Congress and
signed into law by President Ulysses
S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a
national park located primarily in
the U.S. state of Wyoming, though it
also extends into Montana and Idaho.
Yellowstone was the first national
park in the world, and is known for
its wildlife and its many geothermal
features, especially Old Faithful
Geyser, one of the most popular
features in the park. It has many
types of ecosystems, but the
subalpine forest is dominant.
Between 630,000 and 700,000 years
ago, Yellowstone Caldera was nearly
filled in with periodic eruptions of
rhyolitic lavas such as those that
can be seen at Obsidian Cliffs and
basaltic lavas which can be viewed
at Sheepeater Cliff. Lava strata are
most easily seen at the Grand Canyon
of the Yellowstone, where the
Yellowstone River continues to carve
into the ancient lava flows. The
canyon is a classic V-shaped valley,
indicative of river-type erosion
rather than erosion caused by
glaciation.
The most famous geyser in the park,
and perhaps the world, is Old
Faithful Geyser, located in Upper
Geyser Basin. Castle Geyser, Lion
Geyser and Beehive Geyser are in the
same basin. The park contains the
largest active geyser in the
world—Steamboat Geyser in the Norris
Geyser Basin. There are 300 geysers
in Yellowstone and a total of at
least 10,000 geothermal features
altogether. Half the geothermal
features and two-thirds of the
world's geysers are concentrated in
Yellowstone
Local
Weather:
|
