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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

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Yellowstone National Park is the crown jewel of the American park system. It is home to steaming hydrothermal features, crystalline lakes, thundering waterfalls, panoramic vistas and a remarkable diversity of animals and birds. What's more, Yellowstone boasts a history of colorful characters. Native Americans, mountain men, fortune seekers and Western Artists have all impacted present-day Yellowstone in one way or another. Visit Old Faithful, the world's best-known geyser. Tour the travertine terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs. Hear mud pots plop at Artists Paintpots. Listen to fumaroles hiss at ... Read MoreRoaring Mountain. Learn about thermophiles at Norris Geyser Basin. Find out what substance makes Mud Volcano so distinctive. Get a glimpse of the earth's interior at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Watch wildlife in Lamar and Hayden valleys. Soak in the Boiling River. Float the chute on Firehole River. Ride horseback in Gardners Hole. Go for a boat ride on Yellowstone Lake. Take a self-guided ramble on wooden boardwalk. Hike a rarely traveled backcountry trail. Uncover history at Fort Yellowstone. View paintings by Thomas Moran at the Albright Visitor Center. Partake in a ranger-led program. Earn a junior ranger badge. And if you are visiting in winter, snowshoe and x-country ski in a group or individually. Few places in the world are as wondrous as Yellowstone.

White Dome Geyser, Firehole Lake Drive

Alfredo De Simone

Child with Scope, Yellowstone National Park

Alfredo De Simone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Alfredo De Simone

Child with Ranger, Old Faithful Visitor Center

Alfredo De Simone

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What is a National Park?

Child at Steamboat Geyser

Alfredo De Simone

A national park is an area of land or water set aside by a government for conservation and recreation. Yellowstone National Park, the first U.S. national park and first national park in the world, was established in 1872. Since then, more than 4,000 national parks and preserves have been created on six continents. While each country has its own criteria, national parks have three things in common. National parks are a unique natural resource. They are safeguarded to ensure they look the same in the future. They are open to the public for recreational pursuits. Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is the largest national park in the United States. Northeast Greenland National Park in Greenland is the largest national park in the world.