Yellowstone Country
The vivid descriptions brought back from the Yellowstone country by the early explorers and trappers (see [frontispiece]), whose reputations for telling tall tales were widely accepted if not altogether deserved, fell upon the disbelieving ears of the nation for more than half a century. Yet the intriguing rumors persisted, and during the years 1869-71 several expeditions staffed partly by scientists and engineers rediscovered this unique region atop the backbone of our nation. We now know that the earliest visitors, even if prone to exaggerate, could not do justice to the long-hidden secrets of Yellowstone, for none of them saw all of the fascinating features that occur within this great National Park.
By the time the modern-day visitor enters Yellowstone National Park through any of its five entrances, he probably will have traveled through many parts of the Rocky Mountains and grown somewhat accustomed to the “lay of the land.” But this will in no way lessen the exciting impact of viewing the natural wonders of Yellowstone for the first time. Immediate attention, of course, is still drawn to the remarkable array of geysers, hot springs, and other thermal phenomena which in sheer numbers and variety are unsurpassed throughout the world. But, as if these were not enough of an attraction, nature has also provided an incredible setting of sparkling rivers and lakes, thundering waterfalls and cataracts, awesome canyons and gorges, and lofty glaciated mountain peaks and extinct volcanoes. Truly this is a land apart, a spectacular masterpiece of nature that fully deserves the accolade of “wonderland” bestowed long ago by early explorers and trappers. (See figs. [1] and [2].)
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK AREA, showing rivers, lakes, landforms, roads, towns, settlements, and major geyser basins (stippled). The Park embraces 3,472 square miles (2,221,770 acres), and its boundaries traverse a distance of nearly 300 miles. Yellowstone Lake, with an irregular shoreline of 110 miles and a surface area of 137 square miles, is one of the largest natural mountain lakes in the United States. (Fig. 1)
INDEX MAP showing localities where photographs (and one sketch, [fig. 35]) were taken to illustrate this bulletin. For photographs of distant views, arrows point in direction of view. Numbers refer to figure numbers in text. (Fig. 2)
Beyond the first stirring impressions derived from the grandeur of the vast Yellowstone wilderness and its myriad wildlife, assuredly shared by people of all ages and from all walks of life, the various aspects of the Park take on a very different meaning for different individuals. The artist sees grand vistas to be painted, the naturalist delights in the flower-laden meadows and the native habitats of many kinds of birds and animals, the engineer visualizes the amount of energy stored in the waterfalls and steaming geysers, and so on. To the geologist, in particular, who studies rocks and fossils and all of the natural processes involved in shaping the surface of the land, and to all those who would share such interests, Yellowstone takes on a very special meaning. For the Park is foremost a geological Park, created by an extraordinary sequence of natural processes and events that have combined to produce an immense outdoor laboratory for studies that have contributed to a fuller knowledge and a better understanding of the earth itself. The geological aspect of the Yellowstone country is reflected by its very name, given long ago to the river that issues from the great canyon of the “yellow rocks.”[1] This report, borrowing from a century of scientific study within and around the Park area, describes the geological “how, why, and when” of this unique and fascinating region.