Yellowstone: America's Best Known National Park
Geysers, Volcanoes and Geothermal Features
The unique underground volcano system of Yellowstone
The largest volcanic system in North America lies in Yellowstone National Park. With constantly erupting geysers, bubbling hot springs, and a "supervolcano" system historically erupting every 600,000 years or so, Yellowstone is a huge attraction drawing nearly 3 million visitors per year.
Castle Rock Geyser
The Super Volcano
Yellowstone National Park is under great scrutiny from geologists for its geothermal activity. Most of the park is actually a giant caldera, or volcano hole, with a giant magma chamber 4 miles beneath the park's surface. This magma chamber is what powers the parks geysers, pools, and of course, Old Faithful. The giant caldera is referred to as a "supervolcano" because of its catastrophic history. Scientists have confirmed that there is no reason to believe there is an eruption in the near future, nor that we are "overdue."
Sulfur pools
Old Faithful...you've heard of it many times, and probably have seen it on TV. Old Faithful is just one of hundreds of geysers in Yellowstone. It erupts every 74 minutes at a height between 100-180 feet for up to 5 minutes straight. The water temperature has been measured at 204 degrees, while the steam is a scorching 350 degrees!
You'll notice in the picture above the azure blue color of the pools. This is created from black bacteria dying off when the pool heats up from thermal activity.
Old Faithful
More About Volcanoes...
- Volcanoes Are Hot Stuff
- Volcanoes are some of the most terrifying and magnificent wonders of our restless planet. Scientists have learned a great deal about volcanoes in the last century or so, but when a volcano stirs, all we can do is get out of the way.
Yellowstone on YouTube
Yellowstone Links
- Old Faithful WebCam
- See live pictures of Yellowstone's Old Faithful.
- Interactive Canyon Tour
- Take a tour of Yellowstone's famed canyon with pictures, maps and links.
- Yellowstone Weather
- Find out the forecast, snow depth and average temperatures for Yellowstone.
- Yellowstone Wallpaper
- Be sure to check out Wallpaper by Design for more images of Yellowstone!
- Where to Stay in Yellowstone
- The best places to stay in the Yellowstone vicinity, in and outside of the park.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
The other Grand Canyon!
Not as well known as the Grand Canyon in Arizona is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. However, this waterfall canyon may be just as visually impressive with its half mile width and 900 foot drop. The Yellowstone River cascades through the canyon eroding away and carving into the rock.
Wildlife in Yellowstone
Yellowstone offers an extensive array of animal wildlife, including the reintroduced gray wolf, the american bison, lynx, and foliage particular only to Yellowstone. It's one of the few places where it isn't hard to spot wildlife.
American Bison
Gray Wolf
Lynx
More Wildlife...
More Yellowstone Wildlife Pictures...
Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, Bald Eagles, Moose, Elk, Bison, Wolves, Coyotes, Bighorn Sheep, Red Foxes, Marmets, what more could you ask for? Yellowstone has it all.
A mother black bear and one of two cubs getting reading for the winter. You can ...
More Squidoo Lenses featuring the Animals of Yellowstone!
- The Mighty American Bison
- These large, intimidating creatures were once on the verge of extinction until they were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park and on Elk Island in Alberta, Canada. Bison are commonly called "buffalo" by many, however, they are technically bison.
- Grizzly Bears
- The brown bear (known as the grizzly in the Lower 48 states) is a large predator distinguished from black bears by a distinctive hump on the shoulders, a dished profile to the face, and long claws about the length of a human finger.
- Gray Wolves are being taken off the Endangered Species List
- Wolves were once abundant over much of North America and Eurasia but now inhabits a very small portion of its former range because of widespread destruction of its habitat, human encroachment of its habitat, and the resulting human-wolf encounters that sparked attempts of total extermination.
- The Magnificent Moose
- A lens all about moose, featuring moose merchandise and more.
Grand Tetons National Park
Nearby to Yellowstone and included in the Greater Yellowstone area is the Grand Tetons National Park. Its high peaks contrast with the comparatively low-lying valleys, lakes and meadows below offer some of the best photography, hiking, and camping of any of the National Parks. What makes the Grand Tetons unique are its lack of foothills leading up to the glacier-topped mountains.
Grand Tetons Links
- Hikes & Drives
- Find hikes, driving trails, bird watching spots, and day trips in the Grand Tetons area on this National Geographic page.
- Grand Tetons WebCam
- Get a view of the park live via this WebCam.
A Poll on Yellowstone...
Greater Yellowstone
A winding road outside of Yellowstone
A rainbow hits in the early morning hours outside of Yellowstone
Travelling to Yellowstone
Local towns and accomodations near Yellowstone National Park
The closest major town you'll find to the Yellowstone region is Jackson, or Jackson Hole as it's commonly referred to. Expect to see temperatures around 79 degrees during peak summer in July and August. With lows around 42 even in summer, you'll need to pack warm clothes with you for this trip. Winter temperatures rarely crack above freezing, and often dip down to single digits at night.
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The Yellowstone Guestbook
Been to Yellowstone? Have a story? Tell us about it!
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- Heather426 Heather426 Oct 22, 2009 @ 2:00 pm
- ~angel blessings to you~
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- Ramkitten Ramkitten Oct 7, 2009 @ 11:03 pm
- I was looking for information on Yellowstone, because it's one place we're considering going on vacation next year. I'm putting together a lens about the destinations we're considering (so people can help us decide), and I'll be featuring this lens there. As always, you've done a great job!
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- EverythingMouse EverythingMouse Aug 21, 2009 @ 8:55 pm
- Your lenses about this area are proving so helpful to me as I am planning a trip in this area next month. Blessings to you.
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- HenryE HenryE May 14, 2009 @ 10:25 am
- What beautiful pictures! You did an excellent job with this lens. Next time I'm out west I hope to be able to visit Yellowstone.
Henry
www.geothermalexperts.net
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- naturegirl7 naturegirl7 Nov 24, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
- I've ALWAYS wanted to visit Yellowstone. Your lens is fantastic. Welcome to the Naturally Native Squids group. Don't forget to add your lens link to the appropriate plexo and vote for it.
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Yellowstone Books & Guides
Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park
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Amazon Price: (as of 12/05/2009) 
List Price: $21.95
Top Trails Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone
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Amazon Price: (as of 12/05/2009)
List Price: $16.95
National Geographic Road Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (National Geographic Road Guides)
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Amazon Price: (as of 12/05/2009)
List Price: $8.95
Moon Yellowstone and Grand Teton (Moon Handbooks)
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Amazon Price: $11.76 (as of 12/05/2009)
List Price: $17.95
An Interesting Take on Yellowstone
Cool Yellowstone Apparel
Yellowstone National Park (Bison) Large Mug
Price: 14.99
Wyoming Yellowstone Infant Bodysuit
Price: 13.99
Yellowstone National Park Wyo Dark T-Shirt
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Yellowstone Park (Front) Jr. Ringer T-Shirt
Price: 21.99
More National Parks Apparel...
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National Parks T-Shirts
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Looking for some unique, cool National Parks apparel? A retro style National Parks t-shirt? A vintage feeling shirt from Yellowstone? A trendy new design featuring the Everglades? Here you'll find all of that, plus cool gift National Parks gift ideas...
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Thanks for dropping by! Yellowstone is an amazing place to visit, one of the best parks in the country. Known for its geothermal features and abundanc...
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