(light music)
- [Marielena] Yellowstone is epic,
strange, and iconic.
It is well-deserving of
its protected status.
But how did it come to be the worlds
first National Park?
(light music)
Archeologists have found evidence of human
activity in Yellowstone that dates back
at least 11,000 years.
Oral histories of Salish Native Americans
suggest their ancestors were here
3,000 years ago.
Today there are still 26
Native American tribes
that are connected to this land.
Some of the first
European visitors included
fur traders and trackers
in the late 1700s.
But the first big incentive for settlers
came in 1863, gold.
(water sloshing)
Prospectors flocked to Yellowstone
in hopes of finding more.
The Northern Pacific
Railroad Company heard
of the wonders of Yellowstone.
A big attraction like this
could help their plans
to expand their railroad west.
So they sponsored the
Washburn-Langford-Doane
Expedition of 1870.
As the first formal
expedition of Yellowstone,
they explored vast regions of the park.
Including Tower Fall, Yellowstone Lake,
and the geyser basins.
Their most memorable achievement,
naming Old Faithful.
(light music)
Painter Thomas Moran as
well as a photographer
and sketch artist were also
on the expedition team.
Their work introduced
Yellowstone to the world.
And captured the imagination of Congress.
Then, on March 1st, 1872,
President Ulysses S. Grant signed an act
establishing Yellowstone National Park.
The country's very first National Park.
(light music)
The Park is around two million acres.
An expansive wilderness with places
that even today few have seen.
Filled with wildlife including
285 species of birds.
And over 65 species of mammals.
(wolf howling)
But what's on top of this park is nothing
compared to the giant reserve of magma
that lies below.
Thermal power is what
makes Yellowstone tick.
Old Faithful remains true to its name.
And to this day gushes
up thousands of gallons
of hot water every hour or so.
(light music)
It's one of the most famous natural
features in Yellowstone.
But, it's not the only one.
There are over 10,000 thermal
features in Yellowstone.
Including hot springs, mud pots,
and steam vents.
They sit in one giant
caldera of a super volcano.
Some 45 miles across at its widest.
2.1 million years ago Yellowstone erupted
and covered over 5,000
square miles with ash.
About 6,000 times the volume of material
ejected from Mount St. Helens in 1980.
It's among the largest volcano eruptions
known to man.
Yellowstone is still active and another
eruption is possible.
But it probably won't
happen in the next thousand
or even 10,000 years.
In the meantime,
Yellowstone hosts millions
of guests every year.
There are now 59 National Parks
in the United States.
But Yellowstone will always be
the world's first.
