يومياتWelcome to Yellowstone National Park!
Michelle Parkes ·
Let’s take a look around!
As the world’s first National Park, Yellowstone is a firm favourite to millions of visitors each year. Situated in the western United States, it includes dense forests, hot springs, dramatic canyons, geysers and rushing rivers. It even has the largest high altitude lake in North America.
An immense amount of wildlife calls Yellowstone its home. From the mighty bison and elk to bears, 322 species of birds and the gray wolf. With over 2,000 campsites it’s a popular place for tourists to visit. Especially to see Old Faithful erupting into the air.
5 cool facts
1. Yellowstone is a super-volcano
It’s been about 70,000 years since the last lava flow, and the volcano is still active! If it did erupt it has the potential to cover more than 5,790 square miles with ash.
2. Hot hot hot!
Across the expanse of Yellowstone you can expect to come across a fair number of geysers, hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles. In fact there are more than 10,000 hydrothermal features in Yellowstone!
3. On shaky ground
Each year, Yellowstone has around 1,000 - 3,000 earthquakes.
4. Old Faithful
This world famous geyser, named for its predictability, erupts every 92 minutes on average.
5. A popular tourist attraction
Yellowstone brings in over 4 million visitors a year.
5 of the best Yellowstone residents
1. Bison jams
Bison have lived in the Yellowstone park area since prehistoric times. These cheeky herds often cause bison jams as cars wait for them to cross the road!
2. You’d bear-ter bear-lieve it!
There are just over 700 grizzly bears who live in Yellowstone. That large hump on their back is actually a muscle. It’s used to power up the front legs and allows them to dig for roots and insects.
They also love moths! A grizzly bear in Yellowstone was seen eating over 40,000 in a day!
3. Whistling pigs
The yellow-bellied marmot has a high-pitched chirp to warn its family and friends about potential threats. This has earned it the nickname “whistle pig”.
4. Speedy birds
The Peregrine falcon is a pretty fast bird. It can dive at over 200 mph when catching its prey midair.
5. Let’s have a sing-a-long
The tiny boreal chorus frog loves a tune! They get together in large groups in spring to sing for their mates. During winter they live under leaves or logs and can even freeze solid.
What do you call a wet bear?
A drizzly bear!
What issues face Yellowstone National Park?
Park Overcrowding
With over 4 million visitors a year to this stunning National Park, it’s of no surprise the negative impact this has. Trampling of fragile flora, disruption of wildlife resources, visitors getting too close to large animals such as bison.
Traffic is getting blocked up on the roads with 2 mile “bison jams”. Some days can see tens of thousands of cars during peak months. Visitors are illegally flying drones and throwing rocks into the geothermal features which could ruin them forever.
Human waste is also proving a rather stinky problem as servicing and looking after toilets in remote areas becomes expensive. Yellowstone can spend over $28,000 a year on hand sanitiser alone!
Let’s take a look at the positive
A rewilding success story
When Yellowstone National Park was established, there was a minimal understanding of the importance of flourishing ecosystems. As wolves have a bit of a habit of killing certain species, it was decided to eliminate the wolf population.
In the 1990s, a number of wolves were relocated to Yellowstone National Park. The results have been incredible as they helped to stabilise the ecosystem.
The wolves helped to trim down elk populations who were overgrazing on willow and aspen trees. With more of these trees now available, songbird populations increased and beavers were able to build their dams again. The dams had the knock-on impact of lowering water temperatures so cold-water fish could thrive again.
Positive impact with Earth Cubs
FREE APP!FREE APP! Yellowstone National Park environment coming soon!
TEACHING RESOURCES!TEACHING RESOURCES! Extensive curriculum linked resources supporting teachers and schools to bring sustainability into the classroom. Yellowstone National Park coming soon!
