the role of wolves in the park ecosystem The wolves eventually leave the carcass Ravens and a coyote take their place Yellowstone National Park is known for its wildlife Wolves coyotes elk and ravens are a few of the almost 400 species that live there The park is also known for its geysers waterfalls hot springs and forests Most of Yellowstone is located in northwest Wyoming The park also spreads into Idaho and Montana Mountain ranges border all sides of Yellowstone which gets its name from the Yellowstone River The river runs through the park 6 Yellowstone Visitors Getting to Yellowstone National Park was difficult for most of the 1800s The nearest railroad stopped 500 miles 805 km from the park Visitors then had to ride a stagecoach the rest of the way Only 300 people visited Yellowstone in 1872 its first year as a national park Attendance began to soar after completion of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883 Now more than 4 million people from around the world visit the park each year
The Yellowstone River is the longest river without a dam in the lower 48 states A Land of Extremes The weather in Yellowstone can be unpredictable Winter temperatures drop below freezing The average yearly snowfall is approximately 150 inches 381 cm Heavy snowstorms and avalanches occur in both winter and spring Summer brings booming afternoon thunderstorms The animals in Yellowstone adapt to the extreme climate They also adapt to different habitats There are forests meadows and grasslands Rivers streams 7
and lakes provide fish for grizzly bears eagles and other wildlife The park’s best-known attractions are its volcanic features Magma and heat come to the earth’s surface and melt rock The rocks warm the groundwater Mud bubbles from the ground in some areas Water and steam also explode into the air Yellowstone’s unusual natural features amazed early explorers They believed the land should be set aside for tourism On March 1 1872 Yellowstone became the first national park in the world 8 PERSPECTIVES Surviving Yellowstone While most early visitors to Yellowstone described its amazing beauty Truman C Everts had a different tale to tell In 1870 Everts was part of a trip into unexplored parts of Yellowstone He became separated and lost his way Without a horse or supplies he spent 37 days surviving in the wilderness During his time in Yellowstone Everts braved heavy snow rain and wild animals He survived on a diet of thistle root before being found
Businessman and explorer Nathaniel P Langford was a member of the 1870 trip that explored the Yellowstone area In this excerpt from Scribner’s Monthly Langford describes the scene from a mountaintop in Yellowstone The lake and valley surrounding it lay seemingly at our feet within jumping distance Beyond them we saw with great distinctness the jets of the mud volcano and geyser But beyond all these stretching way into a horizon of cloud-defined mountains was the entire Wind River range Outside of these on either border along the entire range lofty peaks rose at intervals seemingly vying with each other in the varied splendors they presented to the beholder The scene was full of majesty The valley was dotted with small lakes and cloven centrally by the river Source Nathaniel Pitt Langford The Wonders of the Yellowstone Scribner’s Monthly Vol II New York June 1871 Google Book Search Web Accessed May 18 2016 Consider Your Audience Consider how you would adapt this passage for a different audience such as your parents or friends Write a blog post conveying this same information for the new audience How does your post differ from the original text and why 9 STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE
