Yellowstone Travel Guide 2015

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• published: 16 Dec 2014
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Yellowstone Travel Guide 2015, Yellowstone Tourism and Vacations, Visit Yellowstone National Park Travel Videos HD, World Travel Guide http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=World1Tube Yellowstone National Park is a United States National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the world's first national park, set aside in 1872 to preserve the vast number of geysers, hot springs, and other thermal areas, as well as to protect the incredible wildlife and rugged beauty of the area. The park contains 3,472 square miles (8,987 km2), mostly within the northwest corner of Wyoming, but with portions extending into the states of Idaho and Montana. Yellowstone is world-famous for its natural heritage and beauty - and for the fact that it holds half the world's geothermal features, with more than 10,000 examples. Travelers to Yellowstone can view more than 300 geysers (such as "Old Faithful"), pools of boiling mud, and an amazing assemblage of wildlife, such as grizzly bears, wolves, bison and elk, all while standing on the surface of the Earth's largest known "super-volcano". The park can be sub-divided into approximately eight major areas, which are organized below as they would be encountered by someone traveling the park in a clockwise direction, starting from the east. Yellowstone Lake. With a surface area of 132 square miles, Yellowstone Lake is the largest lake at high elevation (more than 7,000 ft.) in North America. It is a natural lake, situated at 7,733 ft. above sea level. It is roughly 20 miles long and 14 miles wide with 141 miles of shoreline. It is frozen nearly half the year. It freezes in late December or early January and thaws in late May or early June. Hayden and Pelican Valleys. The Hayden Valley is located six miles north of Fishing Bridge Junction. The Pelican Valley is situated three miles east of Fishing Bridge. These two vast valleys comprise some of the best habitat in the lower 48 states for grizzly bears, bison, elk, and other wildlife species. Natural Bridge, (just south of Bridge Bay Campground). This rock formation is accessible via an easy one-mile walk, and there is also a bicycle trail leading to the bridge. The Natural Bridge was formed by erosion of a rhyolite outcrop by Bridge Creek. The top of the bridge is approximately 51 ft. above the creek. A short switchback trail leads to the top, though travel across the bridge is now prohibited to protect this feature. LeHardy Rapids, (three miles north of Fishing Bridge). The LeHardy Rapids are a cascade on the Yellowstone River. Geomorphologically, it is thought that this is the actual spot where the lake ends and the river continues its northward flow. In the spring, many cutthroat trout may be seen here, resting in the shallow pools before expending bursts of energy to leap up the rapids on the their way to spawn under Fishing Bridge. A boardwalk, built in 1984, provides access to the area, although it is closed during the spring nesting season to protect this sensitive bird habitat. Mud Volcano. This was once a hilltop thermal feature that would hurl mud into the nearby trees during eruptions, but a particularly large eruption blew apart the Mud Volcano, leaving a hot, bubbling mud pool at the base of the hill. Access to the area is via a short loop from the parking lot past the Dragon's Mouth and the Mud Volcano that is handicapped accessible, and a half-mile upper loop trail via Sour Lake and the Black Dragon's Caldron that is relatively steep. The rhythmic belching of steam and the flashing tongue of water give the Dragon's Mouth Spring its name, though its activity has decreased notably since December 1994. The Black Dragon's Caldron exploded onto the landscape in 1948, blowing trees out by their roots and covering the surrounding forest with mud. In January 1995, a new feature on the south bank of Mud Geyser became extremely active, covering an area of 20 by 8 feet and comprised of fumaroles, small pools, and frying-pan type features. The most dramatic features of the Mud Volcano area, including the huge seething mud pot known as the "Gumper", are open to the public only via off-boardwalk ranger-guided walks. Sulphur Cauldron. The Sulphur Caldron area can be viewed from a staging area just north of Mud Volcano. The yellow, turbulent splashing waters of the Sulphur Caldron are among the most acidic in the park with a pH of 1.3. Other features which can be viewed from this overlook are Turbulent Pool (which is no longer "turbulent") and the crater of a large, active mudpot.