Est. March 1, 1872 · about 2.2 million acres · WY (96%), MT, ID · more than 500 geysers
Yellowstone map
Yellowstone, established in 1872, was the first national park in the world. It covers about 2.2 million acres in the northwestern corner of Wyoming with strips in Montana and Idaho, and holds more geysers than the rest of the earth combined.
Where Yellowstone is
The park fills the northwestern corner of Wyoming; about 96 percent of it is in Wyoming, about 3 percent along the northern edge is in Montana, and about 1 percent on the western edge is in Idaho. It sits on a volcanic plateau at 7,000–8,500 ft, ringed by the Absaroka Range on the east, the Gallatin Range on the northwest and the Tetons and Grand Teton National Park to the south. The Continental Divide crosses the park's southwestern quarter, so the Snake River rises here and flows to the Pacific while the Yellowstone River flows north to the Missouri.
Key measurements
- Area: about 2.2 million acres, or about 3,470 square miles, larger than Delaware and Rhode Island together.
- Established: March 1, 1872, by Act of Congress, 18 years before Wyoming became a state.
- Hydrothermal features: more than 10,000, including about 500 geysers, roughly half the world's total. Old Faithful erupts about every 60 to 90 minutes; Steamboat is the tallest active geyser anywhere.
- Yellowstone Lake: about 136 square miles at 7,733 ft, the largest high-elevation lake in North America.
- Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone: 20 miles long, up to 1,200 ft deep; the Lower Falls drop 308 ft.
- Highest point: Eagle Peak, 11,358 ft. The caldera under the park is about 30 by 45 miles; the last major eruption was about 640,000 years ago.
- Wildlife: the largest wild bison herd in the country, and wolves reintroduced in 1995 after a 70-year absence.
The five entrances
- North — Gardiner, Montana, the only entrance open to cars all year, 55 miles south of Livingston.
- Northeast — Cooke City and Silver Gate, Montana, via the Beartooth Highway from Red Lodge.
- East — Cody, Wyoming, 53 miles away.
- South — from Grand Teton National Park and Jackson, Wyoming, 57 miles.
- West — West Yellowstone, Montana, the busiest entrance, 90 miles south of Bozeman.
Bozeman and Billings, Montana, Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Jackson and Cody, Wyoming, have the nearest airports. Salt Lake City is about 320 miles and Denver about 500 miles away. The whole park keeps Mountain time.
How the park shaped the map
Yellowstone was set aside before Wyoming, Montana or Idaho existed as states, so its boundaries are older than theirs; when the three were admitted (1889–1890) the park stayed federal. The Idaho sliver is the "Zone of Death" of legal folklore: a 50-square-mile area with no residents to form a jury. The park was the model for every national park since, and the reason the national parks of the West are drawn as blocks on the map rather than following any river or ridge.
Related maps
- Rocky Mountains · Continental Divide · Snake River.
- National parks map — all 63 with states and years.
- Wyoming map · Montana map · All geography maps.