Yellowstone is a land of superlatives, home to geysers, brightly colored hot springs, spectacular waterfalls, and one of the largest collections of wildlife anywhere in the country. Here are five facts that capture just how unusual this park really is.
1. It Was the World’s First National Park
Established on March 1, 1872, Yellowstone was the world’s first national park, according to the National Park Service. It remains America’s oldest national park to this day, and its designation set the template that national park systems around the world would eventually follow.
2. It Sits on Top of a Supervolcano
The entire park sits atop a supervolcano known as the Yellowstone Caldera, capable of a magnitude 8 eruption. The caldera itself is roughly 43 miles wide and 28 miles long, and it’s the product of three massive eruptions dating back millions of years — the Huckleberry Ridge, Mesa Falls, and Lava Creek eruptions. Because of this volcanic activity, the park experiences around 2,000 earthquakes a year, though the vast majority are so minor they’re undetectable by humans. Experts believe another major eruption won’t happen for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of years.
3. It Spans Three States and Over 2.2 Million Acres
Yellowstone covers roughly 2.2 million acres, stretching across Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The overwhelming majority, more than 95%, sits within Wyoming, with just over 2% in Montana and about 1% in Idaho. That makes the park larger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
4. It’s Home to Half the World’s Active Geysers
Yellowstone’s geothermal features include half of all the active geysers on the planet, among them Steamboat Geyser, the tallest active geyser in the world, located in Norris Geyser Basin. Despite this reputation, geysers and thermal features actually make up only a small fraction of the landscape — the park is roughly 80% forest and just 5% water, with the forested areas home to nine different species of conifers and more than 1,000 species of flowering plants.
5. It Hosts an Extraordinary Range of Wildlife
Yellowstone is home to 285 species of birds, 67 species of mammals, 19 species of fish, 6 species of reptiles, and 5 species of amphibians. It holds the country’s largest collection of elk and the continent’s oldest, largest wild bison herds, alongside wolves, grizzlies, moose, and antelope roaming a genuinely pristine wilderness. The park’s forests also shelter badgers, bobcats, lynx, cougars, coyotes, and red fox, among many others.
Join The Discussion
Yellowstone’s mix of ancient volcanic power and thriving wildlife makes it one of the most genuinely unique places on the planet, more than 150 years after its founding. Have you visited Yellowstone, and did the geysers, the wildlife, or the sheer scale of the place surprise you most? Share your thoughts, questions, or favorite Yellowstone moments below.
