Yellowstone Park. Yellowstone National Park

About 640,000 years ago, when the North American continent was "walking" from volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, a giant crater with a total area of 2,000 km² appeared near the Rocky Mountains. Over time, it has become a plateau, where bubbling masses are bubbling today, fumaroles, geysers, mud fountains and hot springs are hitting the ground. So appeared Yellowstone Park, a photo of which is presented in this article.

A bit of history

There is a legend that 200 years ago the hunter moved in search of prey through the Rocky Mountains and came to the Yellowstone plateau. Now only he understood the stories of the Indians about the "country of smoke and water", only now he believed in them. The picture that opened to him inspired superstitious fear in him. Filled with frozen lava canyons, cliffs glistening with obsidian, fossilized forests combined with bubbling water in the craters of the volcanoes, as well as foamy streams of steam rising from the crevices. Above this otherworldly world there was a smell of rotten eggs - a peculiar "aroma" of hydrogen sulfide. In the future, the story of St. John's wort about this amazing and strange terrain in the surrounding people caused ridicule and mistrust. Can there be such a thing in the world created by God? And if it can, then where is Yellowstone Park located?

Only 50 years later reports of scientific expeditions could confirm the stories of this unrecognized eyewitness. After this, in the territory with such an amazing landscape, located on the lands of three states: Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, the US Congress in 1872 founded the world's first National Park, which was called Yellowstone National Park, which translates as "yellow stone ". Thus, in America, the development of environmental ethics began, as well as the preservation of the terrain with untouched nature. Today, everyone can not only find Yellowstone Park on the map, but also to visit there. In 1976, this place was given the status of a biosphere reserve. Two years later he was added to the UNESCO list.

Description

Yellowstone National Park, which has the shape of a square, leads five roads, and you can get here from anywhere.

In the north there are surprisingly beautiful gorges, with the Madisson and Yellowstone rivers running along the bottom, and hundreds of waterfalls in the canyons. The largest of them is the Lower Waterfall, whose height is as much as 94 m! In the same place are also Mammoth hot keys.

Calcite

At this point the breed is rich in calcite. For thousands of years in the hot water of the sprinkling springs, calcium has dissolved. Thus, sparkling crystals, picturesque terraces were formed, whose steep slopes were decorated with stalactite-like cascades. It seems that limestone amazing figures should have a white color, but many of them are painted in all shades of the rainbow spectrum. This is due to the impurity of microorganisms and metals that inhabit the Mammoth keys. Their color depends on the temperature at the water, therefore, some of the terraces are painted in a violet-blue palette, and the following shine with canary-yellow and fiery-scarlet shades.

In the north-eastern part of the park you can find the largest petrified forest on the planet. This was due to the fact that during the eruption, which occurred once a long time ago, the ash completely covered the trees, after which they were mineralized, turning into idols.

West Yellowstone

Also, Yellowstone Park is known for its West Yellowstone settlement, which is located at the western gate of this reserve. From here you can get to the most famous geyser fountains, which we'll talk about below.

Grand Canyon

If we needed a contour map of North America, then in the eastern part of Yellowstone we would mark the Grand Canyon. Its length is 20 km, and the depth is 360 m! The park from here got its name - in the rocky yellow rocks reflect the sun's rays. In the south of the park there is a mountain range completely covered with snow. He surprises with his harmonious extraordinary beauty.

Geysers

Yellowstone is one of the five places on the planet in which huge fields of geysers stretch (the contour map of North America of these places consists of volcanic layers). Here the magma approached the surface, therefore, the temperature of the water discharged to the surface is much greater than the boiling point, rather, it is vapor than the liquid. It is interesting that small fountains regularly "work", and large ones - spontaneously. There are about 3000 of them.

The steamship, the largest geyser in the world, throws out 5,000 tons of water to 50-100 meters, with the frequency of this unpredictable - from 4 days to half a century.

Another impressive geyser is the Excelsior, which is located in the center of a beautiful mountain lake. At its fountain height reaches 90 m, while this process is accompanied by various special effects - roar, roar and earth trembling.

The stunning source, which is called the Eye, is the real king of this valley. Microorganisms and bacteria that are in hot water, it is painted in saturated bright colors. In form, it resembles a big eye. There is a feeling that someone from the ground is watching what is happening on it.

High tide

Yellowstone National Park on the map stands out another miracle - a huge lake with the same name.

It is located in the center of the plateau. At huge reservoirs there are inflows and ebbs, water at which or leaves from coast, or floods it. Yellowstone Lake does not obey the rules. Here, the water changes the line in zigzags - on some shore can be simultaneously near tide with low tide. Plots in this often change their places.

This mystery still can not be solved by the greatest scientists. One of the assumptions explains this behavior of the reservoir by geological activity. The quirks of the reservoir of fish inhabiting it do not interfere - there it is a huge amount for the joy of numerous fishermen.

Plants and wolves

At the beginning of the last century, poaching led to the extermination of wolves there. Breeding deer and moose have devastated the coast of the Lamar River, while eating all the local plants. Then, as if on a chain, beavers began to die out, which lost their fodder - trees. The reservoirs that were created by these hardworking rodents dried up, as the dams no longer satisfied. Started without water to disappear plants succulents, which fed grizzly bears. Thus, Yellowstone Park was on the verge of a very real ecological catastrophe.

After that, the National Park Service of America brought wolves from Canada. In a short period, they significantly reduced populations of moose and deer. In the valley again there were plants, after which the ecological balance began to recover.

At the present moment in this reserve you can see different animals: moose, buffalo, grizzly bear, deer, snow rams, coyotes, beavers and wolves. Here live other animals: mountain lions, lynxes, pumas. There are many parks and birds in the park - about 200 different species: pelican, swan-trumpeter, bald eagle , etc.

Facilities for tourists

Entering the park Yellowstone, each holidaymaker gets a guide that helps him navigate the vast territory. Almost the whole area can be bypassed along an asphalt road, embracing the "eight" all the interesting places: the caldera and the lake, thousands of geysers, petrified forests, waterfalls and hot springs. The park is surrounded by a highway, the total length of which is 150 km.

It should be noted that the sightseeing usually takes 4 days. In this place it is possible to rent a car, take a horse, and also walk along footpaths, the total length of which is 1770 km. It should be prepared that along the road there are various wild beasts - a virgin opens the virgin nature in its most dangerous greatness.

It offers excursions, boat trips, visits to caves, horseback riding, fishing - for any visitor there will be an activity that appeals to the soul, which will allow time to spend with interest, as well as gain health and strength.

Arriving at Yellowstone Park, you need to be prepared for the fact that the fee for visiting will depend on the total time of stay there. The services of tourists are provided by hotels, hunting lodges, bars, bungalows, restaurants, cafes, petrol stations and shops. In this place, accommodation can be booked in advance. The park is open for visits from May to the end of September, when there are up to 3 million tourists.

Some volcanologists believe that the caldera may wake up in the coming years. This will be a catastrophe, in scale that can be equated with the apocalypse. Forecasts are as follows: half of the US will be erased from the planet. Europe will also suffer because volcanic ash will end up in the stratosphere and close the sun for a long time, after which a "volcanic winter" will come to the whole earth.

Hurry up to admire this miracle of nature, while there is still this opportunity!