Have you ever felt a quiet rumble under your feet, like a huge giant tossing and turning under the ground, preparing to awaken? And to feel the spray of a hot spring that rushes up its waters for several tens of meters, covering everything around with a thick fog? It is this unforgettable experience that Yellowstone will give you - a park in which you can physically feel the restraining force of nature.
Today it attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists.
There are many national parks in the United States, which are known not only in the territory of this country, but also far beyond its borders. However, Yellowstone National Park is considered one of the most unusual and also the oldest parks. Amazing in its content, it is spread over almost 10,000 square kilometers, located on the territory of three states at once. Yellowstone got its name in honor of the river of the same name, at the beginning of the course of which it is located.
Known all over the world for its hot springs and geysers soaring upward, Yellowstone today attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world and gathers many controversies and legends around it.
Yellowstone history
Despite the fact that the length of this extraordinary park is so great, for a long time many scientists could not believe in the existence of a place where columns of hot water rush upwards for several tens of meters and the whole earth is covered with viscous fog. So, for example, when in 1807 John Coulter, while exploring the northern part of the United States, described springs and hot geysers, many scientists only laughed at the traveler's tales, christening him an inventor, and the place of his fantasies was jokingly called "Colter's hell."
A little over 40 years later, the well-known hunter and explorer Jim Bridger also visited Yellowstone, after which he hurried to tell the public about the wonders of nature he had seen. But his words were also considered fiction. Everything changed in the 70s of the XIX century, when the US government actively began to explore the lands of the northwest of the country. Ferdinand Hayden took the matter seriously and, having learned from the example of his predecessors, accompanied his notes with photographs and paintings depicting the wonders of Yellowstone. Thanks to this, Yellowstone National Park officially appeared already in 1872.
For several years, little attention was paid to Yellowstone, only after the final construction of the North Pacific Railway, a stream of tourists poured here, for which the authorities had to allocate enough funds to finance the nature park.
Yellowstone supervolcano
Perhaps the most famous and at the same time, the most intimidating attraction of this national park is the Yellowstone Supervolcano. Such a loud name was given to a huge caldera. Caldera is a depression that arose due to a violent eruption, during which a hole was formed. Later, this failure was prolonged, and today, under the thinned earth's crust, there are several tens of kilometers of pulsating magma, which is ready to burst to the surface at any moment. Several years ago, scientists established the most accurate dimensions of the Yellowstone Caldera, they are 55 km by 75 km.
This is the only such place on our planet, and therefore it is not surprising that it causes a lot of controversy not only in the scientific community, but also among ordinary people. So, for example, Yellowstone may be known to many thanks to the disaster film "2012": it is there that the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano is indicated as one of the reasons for the end of the world. However, scientists are reassuring that the next eruption of this hidden giant will occur no earlier than in 20,000 years. In the meantime, you can come without fear and look at this miracle of nature. Moreover, Yellowstone has something to show.
Yellowstone Lake and Falls
Yellowstone National Park is also known for a considerable number of rivers and lakes. The most famous of the latter is Yellowstone Lake. Its area is almost 350 km ?, and its depth is almost 120 meters. The incredibly blue waters of the lake reflect the clouds floating in the sky, and because of the surrounding Rocky Mountains, it seems that this lake is specially hidden from the whole world, so that only a few lucky ones can admire it.
Another attraction of Yellowstone is the waterfall of the same name. Water falls from a height of 94 meters, which is almost twice as high as the famous Niagara Falls. Watching how the mighty stream rushes down, constantly rustling and playing with the rays of the sun, be prepared for the fact that even the monolithic walls of the canyon that surround it will seem vulnerable compared to this stormy stream.
Hot springs and geysers
The most famous "inhabitants" of Yellowstone are hot springs and geysers. Their number reaches 3,000, which is half of all sources in the world and 2/3 of the world's geysers. Each of them is under the supervision of geological services, and many of them even have their own names.
For example, the most famous Yellowstone geyser is called the "Old Faithful". With an interval of 2 hours, this indefatigable giant throws from 14 to 30 liters of water to a height of 56 meters, amaze everyone around. Another "inhabitant" of Yellowstone is the Steamer Geyser, known as the tallest geyser in the world. Hot water from it rises in a column up to 90 meters, enveloping everything around in hot steam.
Lake of Morning Glory
Another miracle of Yellowstone is Lake of Morning Glory. It got such a romantic name thanks to the wife of the first head of the national park. She compared this beautiful lake with a flower, which is why this name stuck to it. I must say that it fits this lake better than ever, because it has greenish, orange and yellow outlines, and its middle is bright turquoise. The lake of Morning Glory has such an unusual color thanks to the rare species of bacteria that live in it. However, in recent years, scientists have faced a problem that causes irreparable damage to the waters of this lake: tourists who have not recovered from its beauty must throw coins into the colored waters in order to return here later. Over the years, so many coins have accumulated in the lake that the temperature of the water in it has dropped almost twice, due to which bacteria change and many other inevitable consequences occur.
In addition to all this, there are many other interesting places in Yellowstone: mud volcanoes, forests inhabited by buffalo, deer, bald eagles and many other wild animals. Yellowstone National Park is a must-see for every traveler who travels through America. After all, here you can not only feel the hidden power of nature, but also see how the incompatible is combined: bison calmly walk along the rumbling geysers, and stormy waterfalls rustle against the background of a calm forest. Yellowstone is a place that, despite its wild nature, instills an endless sense of calm, because nature always puts everything in its place.
There are two more US national parks: Everglades and Glacier. - read on our website.
