Explore Yellowstone National Park

The World's First National Park, and one of the United States' Most Amazing Sights

By Google Arts & Culture

The Hidden Worlds of the National Parks

The National Parks of the United States are protected areas of great natural and historical significance. Scroll on, and use the click-and-drag function on each slide, to explore the oldest National Park, Yellowstone, in an immersive adventure...

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Grand Prismatic Spring

The largest hot spring in the entire USA, the Grand Prismatic is a stunning sight. The vivid rainbow rings, which lend the spring its name, are caused by varieties of microbes in the mineral-rich cyan waters.

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Old Faithful

Old Faithful may not be the tallest or largest geyser in the park, but as its name suggests, it's the most reliable., and perhaps the most famous. Old Faithful has erupted every two hours, over 1 million times since it was named in 1870.

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Hayden Valley

The wide flats of Hayden Valley are among the best places in the park to watch for wildlife. But it doesn't matter if you call it a bison or buffalo, it still has horns. These creatures look their most marvellous from a distance.

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Brink of the Lower Falls

As the mighty Yellowstone River leaves the flat expanse of Hayden Valley, it tumbles first down 109 feet of the Upper Falls, and then a further 308 feet down the Lower Falls, into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

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The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

This sightseeing spot, known as Artist Point, offers an appropriately picturesque view of the Yellowstone River, the Lower Falls, and the Grand Canyon itself.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1872) by Thomas MoranU.S. Department of the Interior Museum

Picture perfect

Thomas Moran painted The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone in 1872, following a trip accompanying F. V. Hayden on his geological survey of Yellowstone. During the trip, Moran worked closely with photographer William H. Jackson to produce his naturalistic scenes.

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Mount Washburn

Mount Washburn has been a popular tourist spot since the earliest day of the park. In 1879, Mrs. Elizabeth D. Wickes wrote that she visited the mountain and "we played snowball while we picked bluebells to press in our notebooks".

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Tower Fall

It was the beauty of Tower Fall, captured in William Henry Jackson's photographs and Thomas Moran's paintings, that inspired legislators to designate Yellowstone the world's first national park in 1872.

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West Thumb Geyser Basin

One of the smaller, but most scenic hot springs in the park, West Thumb features hot springs, pools, mud pots, fumaroles and lake shore geysers. Look out for Occasional Geyser, Abyss Pool, and Surging Spring.

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Yellowstone Lake

Take a break from the boiling, sulfurous waters of the hot springs to relax in the placid lake, found at the center of the park. Take a boat on the water, or stay on shore and angle for Lake Trout.

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While hot summers may attract wildlife and visitors alike, Yellowstone has to be seen throughout the year. In winter, with peaks and pines capped with gleaming snow, it might just be at its most majestic.

A Helicopter View Of The Us (1951) by Margaret Bourke-WhiteLIFE Photo Collection

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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