We Bearly Knew Ya’ – 10 Surprising Facts About Yellowstone
Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 10:06PM Tweet By Bennett Owen
As part of the My-West fall road trip, we took an early October swing through snow-capped Yellowstone Park…no lines, no traffic jams…and no lollygagging either, because it was freakin’ COLD! The kids will most likely remember one very photogenic chipmunk, a few snowball fights and the view of Yellowstone Falls from Artist’s Point, which suitably blew away the CGI saturated munchkins.
Credit: My-West.com
In an effort to entertain and enlighten the kids en route, I uncovered some things about Yellowstone that entertained and enlightened me more than anyone else and since they didn’t impress the kids I’m trying ten of them out on you:
10 – Tiny little Isa Lake is the only body of water that empties into both sides of the Continental Divide…feeding both the Missouri and mighty Columbia rivers.
9 – Redwoods once grew in Yellowstone. Geologists say the Petrified Tree near Tower Junction is “anatomically indistinguishable from modern Redwoods growing today along the California coast.”
Credit: RaShi
8 – Gardner, Montana at the north entrance of Yellowstone is located directly on the 45th parallel…halfway between the Equator and the North Pole.
Credit: jpc.raleigh
7 – There is an appropriately named ‘Mae West’ curve on the Grand Loop Road near the Antelope Creek overlook.
Mae West Curve. Credit: mccormacka
6 - You can tell the temperature of the water by the color of the algae. Bright yellow survives at 160 F, while the green stuff means the water temperature is a mere 120 F.
Morning Glory Pool. Credit: jpc.raleigh
5 – That thing hanging from a Moose’s neck is called a Dewlap.
Credit: Jvstin
4 – Bill Clinton was the last of eight presidents who visited Yellowstone Park while in office.
Credit: Washington Post
3 - Steamboat Geyser is the highest erupting geyser in the world, shooting water as high as 400 feet.
Credit: Joe Shlabotnik
2 – The fastest animal found in Yellowstone is the Pronghorn Antelope, with top speeds of 50 MPH…slightly slower than ME after spotting a Grizzly Bear.
Credit: Talking Tree
1- Yellowstone Park is not only the first US national park but the world’s first as well, and sparked a global effort to preserve and maintain places of rare natural beauty.
Credit: SeattleRay