Park Facts
History
- Yellowstone National Park was established on March 1, 1872.
- Yellowstone is the world's first national park.
Geography
No area figures have been scientifically verified. Efforts to confirm the park’s total area continue.
- 3472 square miles
- 2,221,766 acres or 899,116 hectares
- 63 air miles north to south
- 54 air miles east to west
- 96% in Wyoming, 3% in Montana, 1% in Idaho
- Highest Point: Eagle Peak 11,358 feet
- Lowest Point: Reese Creek 5282 feet
- Larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined
- About 5% covered by water, 15% by grassland, and 80% by forests
Geology
- The park sits on top of an active volcano
- One of the world's largest calderas at 45 x 30 miles
- 1000-3000 earthquakes annually
- More than 10,000 hydrothermal features
- More than 500 active geysers (more than half the world's geysers)
- About 290 waterfalls
- Tallest waterfall near a road: Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River at 308 feet
Wildlife
- 67 species of mammals, including seven species of native ungulates and two species of bear
- 285 species of birds (150 nesting)
- 16 species of fish (five nonnative)
- More than seven aquatic invasive species (three having significant detrimental effect)
- Five species of amphibians
- Six species of reptiles
- Two threatened species: Canada lynx, grizzly bears
Vegetation
- Nine species of conifers (more than 80% of forest is lodgepole pine)
- 1000+ species of native flowering species
- 225 species of invasive plants
- 186 species of lichens
Cultural Resources
- 26 associated Native American tribes
- More than 1800 known archeological sites
- More than 300 ethnographic resources (animals, plants, sites)
- 25 sites, landmarks, and districts on the National Register of Historic Places, many more eligible for listing
- One National Historic Trail (Nez Perce)
- More than 900 historic builings
- More than 720,000 museum items, including 30 historic vehicles
- Millions of archives documents
- More than 20,000 books (many rare), manuscripts, periodicals
Roads & Trails
- Five park entrances
- 466 miles of road (310 miles paved)
- More than 15 miles of boardwalk, including 13 self-guided trails
- Approximately 1000 miles of backcountry hiking trails
- 92 trailheads
- 301 backcountry campsites
Image: Yellowstone National Park Guide, 1915-1936, fldr 4, box 15, Coll. 400008, Grace Raymond Hebard Papers, AHC.
Information from the National Park Service
Collections
Acc. #10541
Mike Foster (1935-) was an author and adjunct history professor at the University of Colorado-Denver. He authored books and articles on explorers and naturalists of the American West during the 19th century, including Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden and Franklin Rhoda.
Collection contains manuscripts of Mike Foster’s book "Strange Genius: A Life of Ferdinand Hayden", as well as research material assembled in the course of writing, including photocopies and microfilm of primary materials. The collection also contains Foster’s research and manuscripts for his book "Summits to Reach: An Annotated Edition of Franklin Rhoda’s Report on the Topography of the San Juan Country" and "The Ties that Bind: Birds, Nature and Us". Additionally there are materials from Foster’s teaching career and some unpublished manuscripts.
Larry Friedman Papers, 1977-2005
Acc. #12690
Larry Friedman was a veterinarian and professional photographer. Friedman’s work has been selected for photography awards (Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship, Ucross Art Foundation, Best of Show and 1st place at the Steamboat Springs Summer Arts Festival), exhibits (Nicolaysen Art Museum, Buffalo Bill Historical Museum), and publications such as Outdoor Life, North American Perspective, Visions of Wyoming, Wyoming Pictorial Guide, and over 100 post cards
Collection contains contact sheets, negatives, and slides of Wyoming scenes and events including trains, cars, landscapes, buildings, people, ranches, and towns.
Fritiof Fryxell Papers, 1822-1986
Acc. #1638
Fritiof Melvin Fryxell (1900-1986) was a geologist, mountaineer, conservationist, and historian. Along with Jesse V. Howell, Fryxell did extensive research on Ferdinand V. Hayden and the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories, which explored the Yellowstone Park region in the 1870s. Fryxell focused especially on the artists and photographers of the expeditions: W.H. Jackson, W.H Holmes, and Thomas Moran. He also corresponded with later Jackson Hole artist Olaf Moller and with novelist Owen Wister. Fryxell wrote a number of other books and articles, including a biography of Thomas Moran and a biographical sketch of geologist François Matthes.
The Fritiof Fryxell collection contains correspondence and research materials reflecting Fryxell's historical, geological, and mountaineering interests. Correspondents include Jackson Hole artist Olaf Moller and novelist Owen Wister. There are photographs and interviews regarding climbing in the Tetons. Research files cover several expeditions undertaken by Ferdinand V. Hayden and others for the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. Information covers expedition personnel, including William Henry Jackson, William Henry Holmes, and Thomas Moran. Also in the collection are files on Jesse V. Howell, Fryxell's research partner. There are also Fryxell's reports and plans for exhibits at Grand Teton National Park and documents written by John Muir.
Acc. #11250
Katherine Fuller, of Muskegon, Michigan, took a bus trip from Michigan out west August 1-16, 1939. Her other companions on the journey were Marian Bartlett and Faustine Gibson from Greenfield, Massachusetts, and Minni Schempp of Boston, Massachusetts.
Katherine Fuller’s 71 page, typed diary documents their trip, including the route, the scenic sites, and hotels and motels in which the travelers stayed. Detailed anecdotes illustrate Katherine Fuller’s reflections on the journey with her traveling companions. The trip began in Michigan, then the following states: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Kentucky. One map, seven brochures, and seventy-two black and white or tinted postcards and brochures add to the typewritten account that was bound in a wooden binding engraved “Yellowstone Park.”
Gilliam Portrait Studio and Camera Shop Photographs, 20th Century
Acc. #10997
Gilliam Portrait Studio and Camera Shop was a commercial photography business based in McMinnville, Oregon.
The Gilliam Portrait Studio and Camera Shop collection contains photographs of locations in Colorado and Wyoming including: Estes Park, Colorado; Yellowstone Park, Wyoming; Snowy Range Mountains, Laramie, Wyoming; Teton Mountains, Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and Frontier Days, Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Frank and Adelaide Gilmore Papers, 1895-1960
Acc. #777
Adelaide Hook (b. 1875) was married to Francis Edward Gilmore (1868-1949) in Red Bluff, California, in 1897. Frank Gilmore had worked the previous five years as a sheepherder in Wyoming and had driven 1,000 head of sheep from Weiser, Idaho, to what is now Park County, Wyoming. Frank Gilmore started a sheep ranch south of the Shoshone River near Dry Creek. During the summer of 1900, the Gilmores took a camping vacation through Yellowstone National Park. In 1902, they bought a home in Cody, Wyoming, where they lived until returning to Red Bluff, California, in 1905.
The Frank and Adelaide Gilmore collection contains photographs of a sheep ranch; a trip through Yellowstone National Park; and of Cody, Wyoming. Also included are a 1902 invitation to the opening of the Irma Hotel in Cody and a 1904 invitation to a reception for the Cody "Enterprise"; a transcript of Frank Gilmore's diary of his sheep drive from Idaho to Wyoming in 1895; and a 23 page manuscript written by Adelaide Gilmore entitled "The Life Story of Frank & Adelaide Gilmore" written in 1960.
Herbert Wendell Gleason Papers, 1906-1972
Acc. #7681
Herbert Wendell Gleason was a professional photographer who recorded many areas of the North American continent between 1899-1934. He photographed western wilderness areas, California missions, the horticultural experiments of Luther Burbank, Eastern mansions and formal gardens, Boston's Arnold Arboretum, both cultivated and wild flowers, the Canadian Rockies, Yosemite and other National Parks. Many of his photographs are compiled in his book "Western Wilderness of North America."
The Herbert Wendell Gleason papers contain photographs of various locations including Glacier National Park, Zion Canyon, Kings River Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Sequoia Park, Mount Ranier, Yellowstone National Park, as well as the flora and fauna found in many of the National parks.
Oliver Perry Hanna Manuscript, 1926
Acc. #423
Hanna (1851-1934) was born in Pennsylvania and came to Montana in 1868 and worked as a trapper and hunter. He worked as a supplier of fresh game for Fort McKinney in northern Wyoming and was also a scout for General George Crook in 1876. In 1878 Hanna homesteaded in Sheridan County, Wyoming, and helped found the town of Bighorn in 1879. He sold his ranch in 1880 and ran a general store in Bighorn and later served as the town's postmaster from 1896-1900 before retiring to Long Beach, California.
Collection contains the manuscript for Hanna's autobiography "An Old Timer's Story of the Old Wild West: Being the Recollection of Oliver Perry Hanna, Pioneer, Indian Fighter, Frontiersman, and First Settler in Sheridan County, WY" written in 1926 in which he discusses scouting and trapping, a trip through what is now Yellowstone National Park in 1870, frontier life in Bighorn and Sheridan County, Wyoming, the Johnson County War in 1892, the Battles of the Little Bighorn and Rosebud, and a trip to Veracruz, Mexico, in 1915.
Harry S. Harnsberger Motion Pictures and Audiotapes, 1939-1966
Acc. #1987
Harry S. Harnsberger came to Wyoming in 1907 and settled in Fremont County, where his mother was engaged in drilling for oil on Sage Creek. The teenage Harnsberger made friends among the Shoshone and Arapaho and observed many aspects of life on the Wind River Reservation. After the depression of 1910 he went East and graduated from Georgetown Law School in 1914. He returned to Lander, Wyoming, and served as the County and Prosecuting Attorney in 1930-1942. In 1950 he became Wyoming’s Attorney General, and in 1953 he was appointed a Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court. He became Chief Justice in 1967.
The collection contains motion picture and audio reels created by Harry S. Harnsberger. Topics include the One-Shot Antelope Hunt in Fremont County, Wyoming; Arapaho and Shoshone sun dances; parades and celebrations in Lander, Wyoming; Yellowstone Park; and Cheyenne Frontier Days. Also included is a manuscript by Harnsberger about Fremont County, Wyoming, that includes autobiographical information.
F. Jay Haynes Papers, 1875-1980
Acc. #7409
Frank Jay Haynes (1853-1921) began his career as a photographer in the 1870s. He worked in Oshkosh and Ripon, Wisconsin, and in Moorhead and St. Paul, Minnesota, and Fargo, North Dakota. From these bases he sometimes traveled with his photographic equipment to surrounding towns and rural areas. In 1883 he began working as a photographer for the Northern Pacific Railroad which ran excursions to Yellowstone National Park. He became official Park photographer in 1884. He also operated the Monida and Yellowstone Stage line into the Park.
The F. Jay Haynes Papers primarily consist of letters written by Haynes to his future wife Lillie Snyder. Haynes' letters are long and informative, giving many details of his life and work. They cover the period when Haynes was working in Wisconsin and Minnesota and making trips into Dakota Territory. There are a lesser number of letters after his marriage in 1878 written from Montana, Yellowstone National Park, Chicago, and Salt Lake City. The collection also contains some notes by Winifred H. Arnold regarding officers who served at Fort Yellowstone and inaccuracies in published Yellowstone Park history, as well as three blankets used on the Monida and Yellowstone Stage line owned by F. Jay Haynes.
Robert F. Herdman Papers, 1905-1972
Acc. #5380
Robert F. Herdman (1890-1973), an engineer, was a native of Pueblo, Colorado, and attended Colorado A&M College with extension studies at the University of Colorado and the University of Wisconsin. He served in the Army during World Wars I & II; during which time he worked as a civilian engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers. He worked for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from 1913-1923 and 1933-1954, where he was in charge of construction of the Bartlett Dam in Arizona and the Yellowtail Dam in Montana from 1936-1938
Collection contains materials relating to Herdman's career as an engineer including correspondence files containing reports, plans and newspaper clippings, regarding the Litani River Project in Lebanon and his trip to Korea (1950-1954); materials from his time working as an engineer for the Army; speeches by Herdman on water reclamation and dam construction (1945-1950); maps of Korea (1950); a diary of his trip in Korea (1950); subject files on dam designs, Yellowtail Dam, the Litani River Project and Korea (1927-1957); files from his consulting work; reports by Herdman on water reclamation, Yellowtail Dam, the Litani River Project and hydroelectric power in Korea (1942-1960); photographs of Yellowtail Dam (1966) and Bartlett Dam during construction (1937-1939); and manuscripts by Herdman, "The Development of the Reclamation Service" and "History of Yellowstone National Park."
Emerson Hough Papers, 1892-1973
Acc. #6764
Emerson Hough was a writer best known for his western stories, including "Story of the Cowboy" (1897), "Covered Wagon" (1922), and "North of Thirty-Six" (1923). Hough also wrote screenplays for "Covered Wagon" and "North of Thirty-Six," which became successful silent films. He wrote articles with an outdoors theme for popular periodicals like "Field and Stream" and "Saturday Evening Post." He was also active in the effort to preserve western wildlife and campaigned to protect the bison of Yellowstone National Park. Hough was born June 28, 1857, married Charlotte Chesebro in 1897, and died on April 30, 1923.
The Emerson Hough papers include manuscripts, magazine clippings of Hough's works, as well as copies of his books, and correspondence (1892-1965). In addition there are publicity materials for Hough's books and lectures, as well as photographs and legal documents. Hough's friend, naturalist Wayne Replogle, helped to settle his estate, and there are later letters and documents reflecting Replogle's continuing contact with Hough's widow regarding business matters.
Joseph Paxson Iddings Papers, 1864-1933
Acc. #211
Joseph Paxson Iddings (1857-1920) was a petrologist who specialized in igneous rocks. He worked for the United States Geological Survey (1880-1892), was associate professor of petrology at the University of Chicago (1892-1908), and was a scientific traveler and writer (1908-1920). Iddings spent seven field seasons, 1883-1890, exploring and mapping the geology of Yellowstone National Park.
The collection includes 17 pieces of correspondence, chiefly personal (1864-1933); an album of family photographs; photographs of family members; photographs of Yellowstone National Park; and miscellaneous personal memorabilia.
Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance Records, 1945-2011
Acc. #12565
The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, originally named the Jackson Hole Alliance for Responsible Planning, worked on conservation issues, including water protection; preservation of recreation lands and wildlife habitat; and responsible, sustainable development. The Jackson, Wyoming-based organization was founded in 1979. It opposed big-box stores, blocked a nuclear waste incinerator from being located 100 miles from Jackson, and worked to reintroduce wolves into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, among many other initiatives.
This collection contains the records of two environmental organizations from the Jackson Hole area: the Jackson Hole Project and the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance (originally called Jackson Hole Alliance for Responsible Planning). The first series, on the Jackson Hole Project, details the group's founding, work to establish the Jackson Hole Scenic Area, and disbanding in 1983. The second series on the Conservation Alliance includes correspondence, legal material, publications, comments on government plans and legislation, and research about environmental and animal management plans.
W. D. Johnston Papers, 1920-1958
Acc. #11314
W. D. Johnston (1891-1975) was a mountain climber and photographer who took the first movies of a Grand Teton climb in 1931. He was also a power utility executive for four decades with Pacific Power & Light and resident of Casper, Wyoming.
The collection contains 22 reels of 16 mm film of places where Johnston traveled, 1929-1947, including Yellowstone National Park; the Tetons; Thermopolis, Wyoming; Pueblo Indians in New Mexico; and sage chickens near Casper. There is also 1937 footage of President Roosevelt's visit to Casper, Wyoming. Also included are negatives and photographs from the 1920s and 1930s that contain William H. Jackson and D.W. Greenburg at the Grand Teton Park dedication in 1929.
Newell Fodge Joyner Papers, 1915-1941
Acc. #9107
Newell F. Joyner worked for the National Park Service as a Ranger Naturalist in Yellowstone National Park from 1928-1930. In 1931 he became the Second Superintendent of Devils Tower National Monument where he played a role in its development during the Great Depression and World War II until he left the National Park Service in 1947. In the late 1930s he researched cattle brands and created a card catalog of Western United States brands.
Collection contains brand books, correspondence, a 4x6 card catalog of western state brands from the late 1930s, newspaper clippings, research notes, scrapbooks, diaries, drawings, glass slides, a poster of George Hopkins on Devil's Tower, and photographs of Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, and the Joyner family