Yellowstone National Park

Wildlife Viewing in Yellowstone

The best times to see wild animals in summer are early morning and late evening. The Hayden Valley between Fishing Bridge and Canyon, and Pelican Creek east of Fishing Bridge are prime moose territory. Watch for bison in Hayden Valley, and waterfowl along its Yellowstone River. Watch for elk, bison, pronghorn, and coyotes in Lamar Valley, and for pronghorn in sagebrush flats near the North Entrance. Bighorn sheep frequent Mount Washburn in summer. More About Wildlife

Geologic Features by Area

Yellowstone's vast collection of thermal features provides a constant reminder of the park's recent volcanic past. Indeed, the caldera provides the setting that allows such features as Old Faithful to exist and to exist in such great concentrations. More
Tower Roosevelt
Lake Bridge
West Thumb
Old Faithful
Canyon
Norris
Mammoth
Geysers
Mudpots
Fumaroles
Hot Spring Terraces

Yellowstone Hiking

Yellowstone National Park, encompassing 2.2 million acres, is one of America's premier wilderness areas. Most of the park is backcountry and managed as wilderness. Over 1,100 miles (1770 km) of trails are available for hiking. However, there are dangers inherent in wilderness: unpredictable wildlife, changing weather conditions, remote thermal areas, cold water lakes, turbulent streams, and rugged mountains with loose, rotten rock. Hiking in Yellowstone Areas to Hike: Trails near Lake Village, Trails near Norris, Day Hikes in Canyon Area, Trails near Old Faithful, Trails near Madison, Roosevelt Trails, Mammoth Trails, Trails Near Grant Village

Nature and Science

Yellowstone National Park forms the core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) one of the largest intact temperate zone ecosystems on the earth today. This 28,000-square-mile region of mainly federal lands preserves and nurtures a variety of wildlife species and the natural processes that sustain them. More

Geoecosystem

The distribution of rocks and sediments in the park also influences the distributions of flora and fauna. The volcanic rhyolites and tuffs of the Yellowstone Caldera are rich in quartz and potassium feldspar, which form nutrient-poor soils. Thus, areas of the park underlain by rhyolites and tuffs generally are characterized by extensive, monotypic stands of lodgepole pine, which are drought tolerant and have shallow roots that take advantage of the nutrients in the soil. In contrast, andesitic volcanic rocks that underlie the Absaroka Mountains are rich in calcium, magnesium, and iron. Read More

Bison in Yellowstone

Bison are the largest mammals in Yellowstone National Park. They are strictly vegetarian, a grazer of grasslands and sedges in the meadows, the foothills, and even the high-elevation, forested plateaus of Yellowstone. Bison males, called bulls, can weigh upwards of 1,800 pounds. Females (cows) average about 1,000 pounds. Both stand approximately six feet tall at the shoulder, and can move with surprising speed to defend their young or when approached too closely by people. More about Bison

Geysers

Expanding steam bubbles generated from the rising hot water build up behind these constrictions, ultimately squeezing through the narrow passageways and forcing the water above to overflow from the geyser. The release of water at the surface prompts a sudden decline in pressure of the hotter waters at great depth, triggering a violent chain reaction of tremendous steam explosions in which the volume of rising, now boiling, water expands 1,500 times or more. This expanding body of boiling superheated water bursts into the sky as one of Yellowstone's many famous geysers. Read More

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is not only famous for its massive numbers of geologic features; it is also famous for the abundance of wildlife. Many park visitors go to Yellowstone National Park just to see the animals such as the bison, moose, elk, coyote and more!

With the abundance of geysers, hot springs, wildlife viewing opportunities and plenty of park activities such as hiking, horseback riding and fishing, Yellowstone National Park can keep any park visitor entertained for days.