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: Painting of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, undated, fldr 24, box 1, Coll. 1638, Fritiof Fryxell Collection, AHC.
Information from the National Park Service
Collections
Kemmerer Coal Company Records, 1893-1952
Acc. #9442
The Kemmerer Coal Company (KCC) was founded in 1897 by Patrick J. Quealy (1857-1930), Mahlon S. Kemmerer (d. 1926) and his son, John L. Kemmerer with Quealy serving as president. Quealy and the Kemmerers also established the town of Kemmerer in Lincoln County, Wyoming, in 1897.
Collection contains correspondence and letterpress books for the KCC, Quealy, Mahlon and John L. Kemmerer regarding business affairs, coal mining and labor relations (1893-1952); miscellaneous financial materials for the KCC (1897-1942); miscellaneous materials relating to the Short Line Land and Improvement Company, which the KCC held interest in, and the development of the town of Kemmerer, Wyoming; and a 1911 letter from Robert Lincoln to John L. Kemmerer about his trip into Yellowstone National Park.
Acc. #7224
Leo Kimmett was born and raised on a farm in Powell, Wyoming. In 1934, at the time of his high school graduation, Kimmett applied for a job and was accepted to the Civilian Conservation Corps. This corps, YNP-2, was stationed in Yellowstone National Park. While on duty, Kimmett was employed as a member of work detail, a camp clerk, and he also volunteered for a sub-camp that built a fire trail around Mary Lake.
This collection contains a manuscript of “Life in a C.C.C. Camp – 1934,” by Leo Kimmett, a hand drawn map of the area of Yellowstone National Park encompassing and surrounding the camp, and photographs of Kimmett’s time at the C.C.C. camp in Yellowstone National Park, these are copy prints. This collection also contains a 1935 Cadet Ball program souvenir from the University of Wyoming.
Acc. #3138
Stephen Nelson Leek (1858-1943) was one of the earliest settlers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Leek was a hunter, trapper, dude rancher and guide as well as a writer and wildlife photographer. He also served as a Uinta County Representative in the 1907 session of the Wyoming House of Representatives. He did extensive photographic and motion picture studies of elk, and toured the country on the Orpheus Vaudeville circuit billed as "The Father of the Elk." Through his photographs, writings and personal appearances he was instrumental in building public support for saving the Jackson Hole elk herd that culminated in the establishment of the National Elk Refuge in Jackson.
The collection documents the life and work of Stephen Leek. There are manuscripts and research materials on subjects including Yellowstone National Park, Jackson Hole and Western history; elk and other wildlife; Indian legends; and the Gros Ventre Slide, as well as bound typewritten manuscripts (1920-1924), illustrated with Leek’s photographs, on fishing trips in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone National Park and several mountain camping trips.
Richard Leigh Papers, 1875-1937
Acc. #10512
Richard ("Beaver Dick") Leigh was a trapper and scout in the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming from the 1850s to the 1890s. The story of Richard Leigh's life was described in a book by his granddaughter-in-law, Edith M. Schultz Thompson, written in collaboration with his great-grandson, William Leigh Thompson. The book was published as "Beaver Dick: The Honor and the Heartbreak" (1981).
Collection contains diaries for 1875, 1876 and 1878 noting everyday life, seasonal and family activities, the settling of the Jackson Hole, Wyoming area, mining, and Indian activities in the area. The collection also contains Leigh’s correspondence, especially with his friend Charles B. Penrose on hunting in the Jackson Hole area and surveys of Yellowstone National Park; and correspondence between Penrose’s son Boies and Leigh’s granddaughter-in-law Edith M. Schultz Thompson, regarding Boies’ possession of Leigh’s diaries.
George Rogers Mansfield Papers, 1926-1952
Acc. #3445
George Rogers Mansfield (b. 1875) was associated with the United States Geological Survey.
The collection includes a photograph album of 188 pages of photographs of geological formations of the Yellowstone area, other parts of Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, California, Idaho and Kentucky, together with some personal and family pictures. Publications by Mansfield and others spanning the years 1926 to 1952 are also part of the collection.
Merrill J. Mattes Papers, 1935-1964
Acc. #120
Merrill John Mattes (1910- ), a historian, worked for the National Park Service (NPS) for 30 years, beginning as a ranger at Yellowstone National Park in 1935. He was superintendent of Scotts Bluff National Monument from 1935-1946, acting custodian of Fort Laramie National Monument (later Fort Laramie National Historic Site) beginning in 1938, and was acting historian for Fort Laramie from 1939-1946. In 1944, Mattes testified as an expert witness against the state of Wyoming's lawsuit challenging the creation of the Jackson Hole National Monument.
Collection is chiefly materials on Wyoming including copies of Mattes' National Park Service files of correspondence, memorandums, maps, reports, photographs, negatives, legal documents, and printed materials related to Fort Laramie, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Jackson Hole National Monument, Fort Phil Kearny, Fort Caspar, Fort Bridger and the Oregon Trail. Collection also includes two boxes of note cards containing bibliographic citations and research notes on the history of Jackson Hole and the fur trade.
Gale W. McGee Files, 1959-1976
Acc. #9800
Gale McGee (1915-1992) was a Wyoming U.S. senator who served from 1959 to 1977. Originally from Nebraska, he received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago in 1946 and began teaching American history at the University of Wyoming. The following year he became chair of the University's Institute of International Affairs. Active in Democratic politics, McGee left the University in 1958 to run for U.S. senator.
Collection includes materials relating to McGee's career as U.S. senator, work at the University of Wyoming, with the Organization of American States, his consulting firm and personal life. Legislative papers include departmental, committee and study mission files, constituent correspondence and speeches. There are also photographs, scrapbooks, campaign materials, personal correspondence, memoirs, artifacts, films and audiotapes of interviews. Included is material related to the visit of President John F. Kennedy to the University of Wyoming with McGee in 1963.
Acc. #5258
Elwood Mead (1858-1936) was territorial engineer and later, the first state engineer of Wyoming, 1888-1889, and author of its first water code. From 1899-1907, he was in charge of irrigation investigations for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was chairman of the Rivers and Water Supply Commission in Victoria, Australia, 1907-1915, professor of Rural Institutions at the University of California, 1915-1924, and Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from 1924 until his death in 1936. Mead supervised the construction of Hoover Dam; Lake Mead was named in his honor.
The Papers, 1882-1958, concentrate on Elwood Mead's life after 1908. The collection includes correspondence from 1909 to 1950 (most of which is between him and his son Tom Mead), but also includes a letter from Herbert Hoover, notes on water rights cases in Wyoming, eight scrapbooks of newspaper clippings on irrigation and water resources concentrating from 1898 to 1904, nine photograph albums, including two of Yellowstone National Park and two of Wyoming, maps (from the 1950s), the 1889 Wyoming Territorial Engineer's report, and the 1893-1894 biennial Wyoming State Engineer's report, the books Irrigation Institutions and Helping Men Own Farms, awards, a financial statement of Tom C. Mead, and personal memorabilia.
John W. Meldrum Papers, 1843-1936
Acc. #4338
John Meldrum became Clerk of the District Court for the Second Judicial District of Albany and Carbon Counties in September 1872. After resigning as Inspector General in 1893, Meldrum was appointed as the first Commissioner of Yellowstone National Park in 1894.
The John W. Meldrum papers are comprised of materials that relate to his personal and professional life. There are photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, artifacts, and scrapbooks that relate to John Meldrum’s life and his family, such as his brother Norman H. Meldrum and his niece Susie A. Meldrum.
Lyle L. Miller Papers, 1915-1983
Acc. #8283
Lyle L. Miller was a professor at the University of Wyoming's College of Education and the author of textbooks on counselor education and reading efficiency.
Collection contains correspondence, research material, instructional kits and audio-visual materials on counselor education and reading efficiency, much of it used in the preparation of Miller's textbooks. Also included in the collection are 358 photographs and picture postcards of Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding area between 1915 and 1918.
Lester H. Mitchell Papers, 1920-1943
Acc. #2393
Lester H. Mitchell was an irrigation adviser to the Secretary of the Interior and spent 41 years with the Bureau of Reclamation in the Interior Department. He was project manager of the Yellowstone, Riverton, and Shoshone projects and was responsible for much of the early homestead settlement in those areas. Mitchell also did educational work on water utilization and weed control in the arid west. He was also responsible for making a field survey and report on feasibility and soundness of the irrigation works and lands of Billings Bench Irrigation Association in Montana.
The Lester H. Mitchell papers contain a collection of lantern slides with official photographs of the Shoshone Dam Reservoir, Electric Power Plant, and canyon, as well as various dam sites, Glacier National park, Yellowstone National Park, Zion National Park, Boulder Canyon, Bryce Canyon and more.
Frank Lincoln Moore Family Papers, 1827-1935
Acc. #1074
Moore (1866-1935) was born in Olivet, Michigan, the son of Merritt (1834-1908) and Mary Ann Wright Moore (1836-1923). From 1892-1897 he also served as a home missionary in Wyoming and Colorado. Following his graduation from the seminary, Frank served as a pastor in the First Congregation Church in Cheyenne, Wyoming, from 1905-1913 before assuming the position of secretary of the Congregational Home Missionary Society of Colorado and Utah from 1913-1918.
The collection consists mainly of correspondence from 1886-1935 between Moore and his family and other Congregational leaders, mostly while Moore was working in Wyoming and Colorado as a home missionary. He describes his work in Wyoming and an 1890 trip to Yellowstone National Park. There are also 18 pieces of correspondence from 1919-1940 between Coral Moore and May and Herbert Powell, childhood friends of Coral.
William H. Moore Papers, 1881-1921
Acc. #10358
William Harley Moore was born on September 12, 1860, in Limerick, Ireland. He was the son of William Harley Moore and Mary Elizabeth Ledger Moore. Mr. Moore, the son, studied at Queen’s College, winning honors in mathematics and philosophy. He then took his degree of Masters of Engineering at the Royal University, Dublin. On completing his education, William H. Moore came to America in 1885 and was soon employed as a draftsman in the Bridge Engineering Department of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. In 1896 he entered the employment of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, working for that company until his death in 1920. He was appointed Bridge Engineer of the New Haven Railroad in 1889 and Engineer of Structures in 1913.
The collection contains biographical information published in the January 1921 issue of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a letter and postcards to Moore’s mother in Ireland, four travel journals (1898-1900), and photographs of Moore in 1881, 1889, and 1907. Three travel journals illustrate in vivid detail Moore’s trips out west to Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona. His descriptions include railway, wagon, and horseback travel, plus descriptions of Yellowstone Park, the Grand Canyon, and the complete eclipse of the sun, May 28, 1900, on the Atlantic coast near Norfolk, Virginia.
Murie Family Papers, 1834-1982
Acc. #11375
Olaus, Margaret, and Adolph Murie were three famous conservationists who worked in various places across the country to preserve wildlife and national parks. Olaus and Margaret were active participants in the designation of Grand Teton National Park in 1929 as well as preparing the way for the passage of the Wilderness Act.
Rather than being extensive in the topics covered, these papers document in detail a limited number of subjects. Among these are the management of Mt. McKinley National Park, the relationship between livestock and coyotes on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, and the management of wildlife and natural areas in the Jackson Hole and Yellowstone areas. The films document scenic areas all over the world, including South Africa and Ireland. Mildred Capron produced many of them.
Thomas B. Muths Papers, 1892-1987
Acc. #8236
Thomas B. Muths was an architect and authority on historic preservation. After beginning his career in Seattle, Washington, he moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, in 1964 and to Jackson, Wyoming, in 1968, where he worked with two partners before establishing his own firm in 1972. He was involved in many municipal building and historic preservation projects throughout Wyoming and other western states. Muths moved to the Washington, D.C. area in 1984 and operated a consulting firm specializing in historic preservation. He died in Washington in 1988. Muths served on the President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation from 1976-1986 and on the Advisory Committee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation from 1973-1979.
Collection includes architectural drawings, specifications, notes, correspondence, construction records, legal documents, photographs, business records, etc., all related to new construction and historic restoration projects, chiefly in Wyoming. There is also biographical information on Muths.