SPECIAL FOCUS



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From the William Smith Yellowstone postcard collection, top to bottom: The entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardner Montana, with the inscription on the stone arch "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people," created by Act of Congress, March 1, 1872; A Yellowstone Park stage coach in Gardiner Canyon, "The scenic highway through the land of fortune"; Old Faithful Inn and geyser; Yellowstone Park Transportation Company (YPT) busses leaving the station in West Yellowstone, Montana.

• Yellowstone National Park has more than 2.2 million acres of forest (80%), meadows (15%), and water (5%).

• Yellowstone Lake is North America's largest mountain lake located at 7,733 feet (20 miles long and 14 miles wide at its widest point with 100 miles of shoreline).

• More than 1,210 miles of marked hiking trails are available in the park.

• Yellowstone contains about 75 percent of the world's geothermal features.

• Of the approximate 10,000 remarkable geothermal features (geysers, mud pots, and the like) in the park, the best-known is Old Faithful

• Steamboat Geyser at Norris is the world's tallest geyser, reaching over 400 feet in height. Eruptions range from several days to several years reaching the height of 400 feet.

compiled by William Smith



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48 / Illinois Parks and Recreation


SPECIAL FOCUS

Yellowstone Turns 125

"The best idea the nation ever had" was established 125 years ago
through an Act of Congress signed by Ulysses S. Grant

BY WILLIAM A. SMITH

Some say Yellowstone National Park is America's greatest contribution to world culture—the best idea the nation every had. Yet when President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone Park Act on March 1,1872, the preservation of a park was a radical idea.

Today there are 375 National Park Service sites in the United States. More than 140 other nations have also put aside land for national parks. The impact of Yellowstone has been felt around the world.

The idea for a national park came from two early expeditions commissioned by the U.S. government. The first was the Washburn-Langford-Donane Expedition in 1870. The second was led by Dr. Ferdinand V. Hayden, chief of the U.S. Geological Survey. Painter Thomas Moran and photographer William H. Jackson were members of the Hayden party, and they captured the natural wonders of Yellowstone. Their paintings and photographs influenced Congress to create Yellowstone as the first national park.

Early visitors to the park stayed in tents and small hotels provided by the Wylie Permanent Camp Company and the Shaw and Powell Camps. In 1891 construction of the Lake Hotel began and was completed in 1902. Old Faithful Inn was started in the fall of 1903. The builders worked all winter to have the inn ready to open by June 1, 1904. Old Faithful Inn was said to be the largest log structure in the world. Over the years other hotels and lodges were built at Mammoth Hot Springs, Canyon Village, Grant Village, and Roosevelt Lodge.

In the early years of Yellowstone, visitor use was very limited until the Northern Pacific Railroad completed its transcontinental railroad in 1883 with a spur to Gardiner, Montana. Stage coaches were used exclusively in Yellowstone until the admission of automobiles into the park. In 1897 there were only 10,000 visitors, but by 1915 that figure had jumped to 50,000 after the automobile was allowed. By 1948 visitation levels had surpassed one million, and in 1992 the number had reached the three million mark.

Questions about visitor limitations are some of the toughest facing parks like Yellowstone. Without sensible use limits, Yellowstone will become a less wondrous place than it is today.

While people have had a significant effect on Yellowstone Park, the largest impact has come from the forces of nature. In the summer of 1988 an uncontrollable forest fire destroyed nearly one million acres of forested land. This fire brought national and international attention to Yellowstone National Park. The natural fire policy has shown that what appeared to be a disaster, actually has been beneficial to the health of the flora and fauna of the park.

For those interested this park's rich history, there are numerous publications about Yellowstone National Park Two recent books commemorate its 125th anniversary: A Yellowstone Album: A Photographic Celebration of the First National Park, by Lee H. Whittlesey and the Yellowstone staff, and Yellowstone: 125 Years of America's Best Idea, by Michael Milstein.

WILLIAM A.SMITH
is an associate professor in the Leisure Studies Deportment atEastern Illinois University and a member of the Yellowstone National Watch Program. Smith owns the largest collection of Yellowstone books, photographs and postcards (more than 3,000) in the Midwest.

September/October 1997 / 49


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