Horace Marden Albright, superintendent of Yellowstone National Park during the 1920s, sits at a table with three bears.
Vintage Images of Yellowstone Show the Park's Wild Beauty
The first area of the U.S. to be designated a national park lures visitors with roaring waterfalls, erupting geysers, and majestic wildlife.
A paradox of the cultivated wild. A geological smoking gun. The wild heart of a continent.
The park was founded in 1872, after Congress established the designation and President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law. Inspired by the unique land where a massive supervolcano had erupted about 640,000 years ago, officials hoped to provide a place for people to experience the solace and beauty of wild places, well outside of the teeming cities and sprawling developments where many Americans lived and worked.
Then, Yellowstone stood out for its many geysers and hot springs. As the western reaches of the continent were settled and developed, the park’s role as wildlife sanctuary became increasingly important.
Natural disasters have
