How big is Yellowstone National Park?
The Icy crown of Everest, highest peak in the world, is about 29,000 feet above the level of the sea. Bat these bare figures are lost in awe when we see the mighty mountain, or even a picture or movie of its tremendous bulk. The Pacific, worlds largest ocean, covers an area of almost 64 million square miles But we must voyage across it to grasp its tremendous scope and than we realize that the bald tape measure figures tell us very little.
We can estimate the exact area of Yellowstone National Park and figure the height of all its peaks. But when we visit the place, we leave the everyday world behind us and the bare facts of its size are lost in wonder. Crowded into this region there is a greater variety of splendid scenery and more natural wonders than any similar area on earth.
The great park, which belongs to all of us, is equal in area to about half the land area of the Hawaiian Islands and about three times the area covered by the small state of Rhode Island. In plain figures, our scenic wonderland has an area of about 3471 and 1/2 square miles but this is one of very few plain facts about Yellowstone National Park the rest is glamor,.
A tourist can drive the 150 rules of highway running through the park in an afternoon. The park bus takes two days to give you a guided tour along this route with short pauses at countless outstanding wonders. You can walk or ride horseback along miles of trails, stopping to picnic, to camp or just to gape where you please.
The roads and trails, the regions touched by human hands, take up only one tenth of the great park. Nine tenths of the region is primeval, left in the wild state just as it was created. Our national parks are set up to preserve the primeval qualities of outstanding regions. For this reason; there are laws which forbid the destruction of any native plant or animal life.
About four fifths of the park is covered with native forest, tall trunks that climb up the many mountain slopes and cluster in the rocky gorges. There are also patches of grassy meadow, carpeted in certain seasons with colorful wild flowers. There are prairie regions, furry with sage brush and sometimes decked with gaudy prairie flowers. There are gorges waterfalls, rivers and lakes. There are dramatic geysers and hot springs with colored basins. And the whole region teems with wild life. The animals are less timid than elsewhere because they seem to sense that here it is safe for them to let us pause and admire them.
Millions of people, as always, are planning to visit the biggest and the oldest of our parks this summer. As a vacation spot, it has the magic of restful calm and exciting beauty. For a family, the best and least expensive plan is to camp there on one of the many areas set aside for this purpose. Because of its northern latitude and high altitude, the wonderful region is open for campers only from Jane to September just right for summer vacations.