How old is Yellowstone National Park?

Yellowstone was established as the world's first national park by an act of Congress and signed into law on March 1, 1872, by President Ulysses S. Grant.



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Yosemite National Park was designated by an Act of Congress on October 1, 1890, making it the third national park in the United States, after Yellowstone (1872) and Sequoia (1890). Friday, October 1, 2010 marks the 120th birthday of the park.

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The Yellowstone supervolcano last erupted about 640,000 years ago. A sleeping giant is nestled in the western part of the United States. Though it stirs occasionally, it has not risen from slumber in nearly 70,000 years.

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Instead, the name was attributed as early as 1805 to Native Americans who were referring to yellow sandstones along the banks of the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana, several hundred miles downstream and northeast of the Park.

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Grant designated Yellowstone as the first national park in the United States and the world. Today, the park is home to the world's largest collection of geysers, including the iconic Old Faithful.

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But the ideas on which Yellowstone was founded—public access, enjoyment of nature, and conservation of wilderness—took root in the American imagination, and inspired the creation of subsequent national parks across the United States and around the world.

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In fact, some of the modern trails frequented by hikers in Yellowstone are believed to be relics of Indigenous corridors dating all the way back to roughly 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age when humans first appeared in the archeological record in North America.

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As pressure is released, gases dissolved in the magma come out of solution, turning the magma into a boiling froth. The total energy released would be equivalent to an 875,000 megaton explosion. The shockwave would kill 90,000 people. Most of the lava would fall back into the crater.

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  • Yellowstone is home to more than 500 active geysers (more than half the world's geysers). ...
  • Yellowstone Lake has 131.7 sq. ...
  • Yellowstone is home to the largest concentration of mammals in the lower 48 states (67 species). ...
  • 285 species of birds can be found in Yellowstone (150 nesting).


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National Park of American Samoa: The least-visited US national park in 2022 saw just 1,887 visits. Most visitors will need a passport to travel to American Samoa. 2. Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska: This vast park contains no roads or trails.

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These Are The 10 Oldest National Parks In The United States
  • Yellowstone National Park - 1872. On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. ...
  • Sequoia National Park - 1890. ...
  • Yosemite National Park - 1890. ...
  • Mount Rainier National Park - 1899. ...
  • Crater Lake National Park - 1902.


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Elk. Elk or wapiti (Cervus canadensis) are the most abundant large mammal found in Yellowstone; paleontological evidence confirms their continuous presence for at least 1,000 years. Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, when market hunting of all large grazing animals was rampant.

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Northeast Greenland National Park (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq, Danish: Grønlands Nationalpark) is the world's largest national park and the 10th largest protected area (the only larger protected areas consist mostly of sea).

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The largest national park is Wrangell–St. Elias in Alaska: at over 8 million acres (32,375 km2), it is larger than each of the nine smallest states. The next three largest parks are also in Alaska.

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Get closer to America's Oldest State Park at Niagara Falls State Park! Find out for yourself why millions of visitors are drawn to this magnificent natural wonder every year.

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