"Yellowstone National Park, a gem of... " a Yellowstone National Park Travel Page by melissa_bel

Yellowstone... a name that makes outdoors lovers shiver with delight. . It the oldest and one of the largest park in the country. Located mainly in Wyoming (with little bits in Montana and Idaho), it's also one of the most popular. Named after the river that crosses it, the first European to see the wonder (a scout from the Lewis and Clarck expedition in 1807) had a hard time convincing people about his good faith, it was turned into a park in 1872 by an order of President Ulysses S. Grant and was the first National Park. Yellowstone is so spectacular because it is so rich in sceneries: swift moutain streams and glacial lakes, towering snowy moutains and rolling hills, little plains and canyons, grassy meadows and pinetrees groves, awesome geysers and serene alpine solitude...
But it is also rich in wildlife. You will probably read about the "big 3" of Yellowstone:

1. The grizzly bear has found a haven here and feeds on the trouts provided by the river. It is probably the most popular.

2.,The grey wolf, nearly excint and completely wiped out of the Yellowstone area, it has been reintroduced in the mid '90's with packs from Canada. They now thrive in their new habitat but you'll still be lucky to see one.

3. American bison (buffalo) : Those impressive, placid-looking ruminants are a symbol of the west and one of the easiest of the big mamal to spot. It was actually the only one I saw on my trip. You'll find thm in grassy open field quietly chewing their food. Don't get too close , especially from a mother and calf. You don't want a 2.000 pounds bulldozer running over you!

But you'll find many more : mountians goats, moutains lions, otters, elks, birds (amongst them, the majestic golden and bald eagles), insects, fishes, amphibians....

Unfortunately, Yellowstone is victim of its popularity. The amount of tourists keeps on growing and is interfering with the habitat. Because cars are allowed freely in the park, noise and exhaust fumes are a real problem. In winter, it's the snowmobile. This is a recent debate. President Clinton in the waning days of his administration decided to bar snowmobiling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP at the ire of the tourism industry.After a new administration friendlier to their interest, a second study o the effect of snowmobile, and a lawsuit against the National Parks Service, the snowmobile industry has the upper hand. 720 snowmobiles will be allowed in the Park everyday.

Pollution is not Yellowstone's only enemy: geology is also one of them.
The bassin is located on an undeground super-volcano. A huge lava chamber that gives fuel to those beautiful geysers and hot springs you can find among the park. Unfortunately, it's like a pressure cooker and it'll have to blow-up someday. And when it happens, it will be catastrophic (more on that on my danger pages).

That day is not here yet and although I was only able to visit the northern part of the Park, it is best to devote at least 3 days to see everything and enjoy the trails. Another advice: avoid summer holidays if you can and come in May-June or September-October where temperatures are OK but you won't get swamped in tourists hell.