Yellowstone's natural marvels are startling: hundreds of geysers, scores of inspiring waterfalls, and a gorge -- carved by time and water -- that rivals the Grand Canyon. This park commands the imagination and envelopes the senses from the moment of arrival.
Creatures both great and small thrive in Yellowstone National Park. In the wilderness of Yellowstone's southern corners, grizzlies feed on cutthroat trout during their annual spawning run to the Yellowstone headwaters. In the soft blue depths of Octopus Pond, microbes of enormous scientific value are incubated and born; in the mountain ridges, wolves make their dens and mountain lions hunt bighorn sheep. Wildlife that most Americans see only in zoos wanders freely here, from the grizzly to the river otter, the trumpeter swan to the rufous hummingbird. Aspen groves, fields of lupine, the howls of coyotes and reintroduced wolves -- all these testify to the resilience and vitality of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
This is not just a paradise for sightseers -- it's a scientific preserve as well. The hot pools support a population of unique microbes known as thermophiles and extremophiles; studies of the elk herds and grizzly have yielded crucial information on habitat needs and animal behavior; and the rocks of Yellowstone are like the earth turned inside out, a treasure trove for geologists.
Definitely get out of your car and away from the road, into the wild heart of the backcountry. This park embodies our country's beginnings: a nation of wilderness, of challenging and rugged extremes, and a landscape of extraordinary bounty and beauty.
