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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



Knight, W. C. The Birds of Wyom- 

 ing. Bull, No. 55, Wyoming Experi- 

 ment Station, 1902. (Out of print.) 

 The Yellowstone National Park. The 

 Yellowstone National Park is rapidly 

 becoming our best known park. It 

 was created by act of Congress, March 

 1, 1872, and is under the supervision o^" 

 the National Park Service of the De- 

 partment of the Interior. The Park 

 was established for the preservation of 

 natural features and curiosities and is a 

 sanctuary of wild life of every sort. 

 The Park Service issues each year a 

 bulletin containing descriptive material, 

 information of various kinds, and the 

 rules and regulations governing visitors 

 and tourists in the park. 



I. General features: The Yellowstone 

 National Park is about 62 mi. long and 

 54 mi. wide; its area is 3348 sq. mi., or 

 2,142,720 acres. The greater part of 

 the park area, 3114 sq. mi., is located in 

 northwestern Wyoming, 198 sq. mi. in 

 Montana and 36 sq. mi. in Idaho. The 

 elevation varies from near 5300 ft. at 

 Gardiner, Montana, the north entrance 

 to 11,155 ft. at Electric Peak. The 

 principal area consists of a broad, 

 elevated, volcanic plateau extensively 

 covered with western coniferous forest. 

 This plateau ranges from 7000 to 8500 ft. 

 in elevation. The continental divide 

 passes through the southwestern part 

 of the park. On one side are headwaters 

 of the Snake River and on the other the 

 Madison and Yellowstone Rivers. Men- 

 tionshouldbe made of several large lakes, 

 especially Yellowstone which has over 100 

 mi. of shore line. The most remarkable 

 natural features are the great number, 

 variety and size of the geysers, the hot 

 springs, the Falls and the vivid coloring 

 of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, 

 the fossil forests, and less evident to the 

 passing tourist, the rich fauna and flora 

 which are here undisturbed. 



II. Original biota: The vast area of 

 the park is probably the greatest and 

 most successfully handled wild bird and 

 wild animal preserve in the world. 

 Firearms must be left outside or carried 



sealed through the park. Dogs must 

 be confined or under leash at all times. 

 Mining, and grazing of live stock, is 

 prohibited. No herds or domestic ani- 

 mals are allowed to run free in the park. 

 No trees are cut down except to make 

 way for roads, trails, or camp sites. 

 Campers must use only dead or fallen 

 timber. The destruction, injury, de- 

 facement, or disturbance in any way of 

 trees, flowers, vegetation, rocks, min- 

 erals, animal or bird or other life is 

 prohibited. As the park is a sanctuary 

 of wild life of all sorts, hunting, killing, 

 trapping, capturing or frightening any 

 bird or wild animal is prohibited. A 

 few flowers may be picked unless the 

 superintendent decides this is harmful. 

 Fishing with hook and line is permitted. 

 Under these conditions, except for roads, 

 trails, hotels and camps this vast pre- 

 serve is in a very nearly natural con- 

 dition. Visitors, as a rule, keep to the 

 beaten road, and Avith the exception of 

 black bears do not often see wild animals 

 which in summer are generally found in 

 the more remote portions of the park. 

 The park contains a great many deer, a 

 good many antelope, a few hundred 

 moose, several thousand elk, and a large 

 herd of bison. Two hundred and five 

 species of birds here live undisturbed 

 lives. Ducks, geese, and other water 

 birds are numerous, and many remain all 

 winter on streams fed by hot springs. 

 Hawks and eagles are common, and 

 swans and pelicans may be seen on 

 Yellowstone Lake. For lists of other 

 birds and numerous other mammals, 

 see bulletins issued by the Park Service. 

 The extensive, undulating, coniferous 

 forest is characterized by lodgepole 

 pine, Englemann spruce, Douglas fir, 

 and a large variety of boreal shrubs and 

 plants. At the higher altitudes alpine 

 fir and white-bark pine are found near 

 the timberline. At the lower altitudes 

 are sagebrush, narrow-leafed cotton- 

 wood, aspen and western red cedar. 

 The open grassy meadows and sagebrush 

 slopes give way higher up to aspen and 

 coniferous forest. 



