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Yellowstone National Park is known for its steaming geysers, crystalline lakes, thundering waterfalls, and panoramic vistas. Here are some quick facts to help define this area called Yellowstone country.
Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first national park in 1872 by an act of Congress inspired by the reports brought back from the Hayden survey party's expedition of 1871.
It is one of the largest parks, 2.2 million acres, in the contiguous 48 states, sprawling across volcanic plateaus and mountain ranges in the northwest corner of Wyoming, and touching on a bit of Montana and Idaho.
Land Composition: forest 80%, meadows 15%, water 5%
Lowest Point: 5,282 feet at Reese Creek
Highest Point: 11,358 Eagle Peaks summit
Plants and Animals: 12 species of trees, 80+ wildflowers, 58 mammals, 290 bird species
Hiking: 1,210 miles of marked trails. Roads cover less than 3% of the park; the rest is wilderness
Waterfalls: 110
Popular Sights: Lower Falls of the Yellowstone, Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley
Popular Activities: Free ranger-led programs, sight-seeing tours, fishing, boating, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, snowmobiling, hiking
Monthly Temperature and Precipitation Chart
 |
Precipitation |
High |
Low |
Snowfall |
| January |
2.39 |
23.4 |
-0.1 |
30.1” |
| February |
1.67 |
30.9 |
302 |
23.4” |
| March |
1.74 |
36.8 |
7.3 |
22.6” |
| April |
1.51 |
46.4 |
19.3 |
9.6” |
| May |
2.17 |
58.5 |
29.1 |
4.1” |
| June |
2.62 |
68.3 |
36.1 |
0.9” |
| July |
1.38 |
79.4 |
40.8 |
trace |
| August |
1.63 |
76.2 |
38.6 |
0.1” |
| September |
1.54 |
65.6 |
30.2 |
1.4” |
| October |
1.42 |
52.8 |
22.1 |
6.6” |
| November |
.90 |
34.4 |
10.6 |
18.4” |
| December |
2.37 |
25 |
1.9 |
26.1” |
| Annual |
22.34 |
|
|
143.3” |
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