CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION As pioneers explored the American West there were rumors among fur trappers and other adventurers about a strange place high on a plateau Some of these pioneers called it Yellowstone because of the yellow rock walls they saw Yellowstone's historical Grand Loop Road wraps throughout the major features in the park YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Local American Indians told them of steaming hot water that spurted from fountains colorful mud pools that burbled and ancient petrified forests that stood tall among rainbow colored canyons thundering waterfalls and glassy cliffs The Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the American West noted the Yellowstone River but the explorers did not venture far enough to discover the thermal features Ancient Residents Archeological evidence reveals that many American Indian tribes occupied or traveled through Yellowstone for more than 11 000 years including ancestors of the Crow Shoshone Cayuse Nez Percé and other tribes
At the head of this river the natives give an account that there is frequently heard a loud noise like thunder which makes the earth tremble They state that they seldom go there because their children cannot sleep and conceive it possessed of spirits who were averse that men should be near them the Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition The Yellowstone River follows the canyon formed after the Yellowstone Caldera eruption more than 640 000 years ago
William Clark later created a map of Yellowstone using sketches and details from fur traders and others who traveled the wilderness One fur trader was John Colter who traveled with the Lewis and Clark expedition He left the party and became a trapper John is credited by many to be the first to discover what later became Yellowstone National Park William Clark August 1770 September 1838
