Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming and Montana

The first national park established anywhere in the world is Yellowstone National Park which was authorized in 1872 by the United States Congress. Its hot springs, ten-thousand (10,000) geysers and geyser basins, lava formations, lakes, waterfalls, rivers and river canyons make it a place of unrivalled beauty. It is also a place to study volcanic forces and heat flow within the earth. Yellowstone sits on top of a hot spot where a thermal plume or column of molten rock rises from deep within the earth and feeds into a large chamber 11,000 feet below the earth's surface. The 1,000F-degree heat from this molten rock in the chamber warms water from rain and snow that seeps down; the resulting steam and hot water rise again to the surface, forming hot springs and geysers such as Old Faithful. It is known that a similar chamber with molten rock burst forth in a volcanic eruption 600,000 years ago to form what is now Yellowstone. The question remains: When will Yellowstone erupt again? But, at present, it is a gentle and wondrous reminder of the volcanic forces that shape the earth. The park is a tribute to the foresight of those who created it and started a movement in conservation that has spanned the entire globe. (Inscribed in 1978).

In December 1995, Yellowstone National Park was included on thelist of properties of World Heritage in danger. It is hoped that increased attention to the threats of over-use and pollution will lead to better conservation of the Yellowstone's natural resources.