Yellowstone National Park
The national preservation of wilderness areas began in the United States. Established in , Yellowstone National Park was the first national park to be created not only in the United States, but in the entire world. With an area of nearly square kilometres, the park covers north western Wyoming and parts of southern Montana and eastern Idaho. Yellowstone’s importance is both historical and symbolic. Its establishment represents the recognition of the need to set aside some parts of the earth as places where people come second and nature comes first.
Yellowstone is best known for its geothermal features. It contains hot springs, and to active geysers. Old Faithful is the most famous of the geysers and the park’s most visited attraction.
A geyser is a hot spring that periodically erupts, discharging jets of steam and water into the air. If we consider the entire planet, geysers are quite rare. In fact more than half of the world’s geysers are found in Yellowstone. With their powerful bursts and hisses, they provide visitors with impressive and entertaining sights and sounds.
Yellowstone National Park is one of the great wildlife refuges in the world. It is home to more than species of mammals and nearly species of birds. Within the boundaries of the park, such animals as elk, bison, moose, deer and pronghorn antelope roam freely. There is little control over them. The park is their home and the people are only visitors, tacitly entrusted with the preservation of this natural environment.