Madison Junction Historical Museum.
Beginning early in the twentieth century there were advocates of an extension southward. Many people wanted to have the cathedral-like Tetons incorporated in the Park. A campaign for a Greater Yellowstone was launched, and in 1918 Representative Mondell introduced a measure (H.R. 11661) providing for their incorporation.[348] However, the matter was delayed, and the passing of time resulted in the establishment of the Grand Teton National Park. A national park may only be created by an act of Congress; whereas an executive order is sufficient for the creation of a national monument or a moderate extension of a park boundary. Through a proclamation issued by President Hoover on October 20, 1932, Yellowstone National Park acquired a triangular strip of 7,600 acres of land, now called the Stevens Creek area. It is located northwest of Gardiner townsite, and it was enlarged to the extent of nearly a thousand acres the next year. In affairs of this character the National Park Service and the Superintendent work in close cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior. Indeed, the superintendency of Yellowstone is one of the ranking positions of its kind in the National Park Service. His final obligation is to be sure that the original objective “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people” is still the chief and ever-constant purpose.
It has been pointed out that the fulfillment of this objective is rather difficult, because various interests and groups have their own ideas concerning the purposes and methods of administering national parks. For example, in Idaho, there are some organizations that seek an Idaho entrance to the Park on Fall River. They point to the fact that distance and time would be appreciably reduced in reaching Old Faithful via this route. Besides, they aver, such an entrance would traverse a beautiful scenic area. These contentions are both valid and understandable. So is the demand for landing strips and airport facilities within the reservation boundaries.
The latter project, it is held, is identical to the position raised by motorists in 1915. National Park officials have met these issues squarely. Director Conrad L. Wirth and his Yellowstone representatives have vetoed both proposals. “Surely,” they reason, “the Park is for the people, but if it is multisected by highways and airways, what will become of the primitive areas?” Sizeable regions are essential for the propagation and preservation of wild life. In addition, they point to the fact that as of this date most people conceive of the parks as havens of relative quiet and rest.
During the travel season of 1959, Yellowstone was host to 1,489,112 visitors. This multitude exceeded the total of all persons entering the Park in the first half century of its existence. Facilitating their enjoyment and at the same time preserving the domain as a pleasuring ground for their descendants requires a good measure of understanding on the part of the public, together with a high degree of understanding and training upon the part of the officials.
Earth tremors are common in the Yellowstone region. The Hayden Survey reported feeling severe shocks near Steamboat Point on Yellowstone Lake in 1871. They named the site “Earthquake Camp.” Other quakes have been reported, mostly of a minor nature. At 11:38 p.m. on August 17, 1959, an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 on the Richter Scale struck the Yellowstone area. The epicenter of the quake was along the western boundary of the Park in the vicinity of Grayling Creek.
The greatest earthquake damage took place in the Madison Canyon about 7 miles below Hebgen Dam and outside Yellowstone. A massive slide of about 80 million tons of earth and rock blocked the canyon and entombed a number of campers along a half-mile stretch of the Madison River. This natural dam has created Earthquake Lake, a feature that will attract attention for years to come.
In Yellowstone National Park dangerous rock slides covered Park roads at several points along the Madison, Firehole, and Gibbon rivers, and at Golden Gate. Tall chimneys toppled from Old Faithful Inn and other Park buildings, and there was structural damage to many roads and buildings.
The hot springs showed a greater change in this one night than had been observed in the entire history of the Park. Close study of the thermal features revealed that most springs had discharged water copiously during the quake and aftershocks, and then ebbed below normal levels. Investigation revealed that at least 298 springs and geysers had erupted the night of the quake, and 160 of these were springs with no previous record of eruption. Other changes occurred slowly. The Fountain Paint Pot did not manifest unusual activity until several days after the quake, but then encroached upon walks and parking areas. Most of the hot springs became turbid, and even cold springs that fed the mountain streams on the west side of the Park discharged an opaque mud which discolored the creeks and rivers.
Equilibrium was gradually restored in the geyser basins. Some of the earthquake changes were permanent, others transitory. All of them make this chapter in the living geology of Yellowstone an intensely interesting one for Park visitors to learn about.