30+ Yellowstone National Park Facts For Kids

Historical Yellowstone National Park facts for kids

Yellowstone national park has the title of being the first national park in the country and the world. It has the world’s largest collection of geysers, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and the Yellowstone River, and many waterfalls.
Even though native Americans used to reside in this area, now this national park is home to a diversifying range of flora and fauna. The US government set this area as a national park on March 1, 1872.
From 1886 to 1917, the US army ran the national park, and then it was taken over by the new national park service and which has been running the park ever since.
For 3 months in 1985, 3000 minor earthquakes occurred in the northwestern area of the park. Also, in January 2010, more than 250 earthquakes were detected over a two-day period here.
Known to be one of the largest remaining intact ecosystems in the earth’s northern temperate zone, the Yellowstone national park contains a myriad of facts that can easily fascinate your kids.

Where is Yellowstone National Park?

The park covers an area of 3500 square miles and is mostly made up of plateaus. The park is on the Yellowstone plateau, which has an average height of 8000 feet above sea level.
The park can be reached by five entrances: from the north through Livingston and Gardiner (Montana), by northeast through the Beartooth-Pass (Wyoming), by east through Cody, by south from Jackson, by bypassing the Grand-Teton-national park, and west through the Idaho Falls.
You will be able to witness the Yellowstone River flowing through Yellowstone Lake, which is the largest lake in North America.
At Yellowstone Park, There are mountain ranges on most sides of the plateau.
During the volcanic tuff of the Yellowstone Plateau by rivers, three deep canyons were cut through in the park. The most famous one is the grand canyon of Yellowstone.
The land is mostly covered by forests containing trees like lodgepole pines and conifers. It is also the habitat of a varying range of wild animals including bison, bears, wolves, moose, elk, and coyotes.

Why Is Yellowstone National Park Famous?

To your amusement, there are more than 60 species of mammals residing in the park including black bears, elk, wolves, white-tailed deer, mule deer, etc, and many more.
Yellowstone is generally famous for the concentration of hot springs, steam vents, and mug spots.
Yellowstone National Park preserves more than 10,000 hydrothermal features. You will witness a huge collection of hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles, travertine terraces, and geysers.
There are microorganisms called thermophiles (meaning heat-loving) that live in these features and give rise to brilliant colors in the park.
The traffic jam has a whole different meaning in Yellowstone. Often, your car will have to come to a halt due to the sudden emergence of a herd of bison crossing the road. Moreover, Bison jam is an extremely popular term there.
Human history goes back to more than 11000 years in this area. John Colter was the first person to explore this area.
The earliest intact archaeological deposits in the park had been discovered at a site on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. This area is enriched with human and ecological stories that are coming out to the surface steadily.
This place is the home to one of the world’s largest active volcanoes that lie beneath Yellowstone.
Nearly 2.1 million years ago, the first major eruption of the Yellowstone volcano occurred and covered around 5600 square miles with ash.
Since this is amongst the largest volcanic eruptions known in the world, Yellowstone is regarded as a supervolcano (a volcano that has an eruption of more than 240 cubic miles of magma). The lava had last flown around 70000 years ago.
Yellowstone also has the largest concentration of mammals in the United States. It is enriched with a diverse range of flora and fauna including 300 species of birds, 16 types of fish, and 67 species of mammals, which is known to be the largest number of mammal species in the United States.
The mammals include bison, elk, wolves, grizzly bears, lynx, and foxes. However, while visiting, always maintain a safe distance (at least 100 yards) from the animals to ensure life safety.
Yellowstone national park contains its own Grand Canyon. You might have heard about the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone which is created by erosion from the Yellowstone River.
The canyon is known to be more than 1,000 feet deep, 1500 – 4000 feet wide, and approximately 20 miles long. You get to experience a spectacular view from the artist’s point!

Quick Yellowstone National Park Facts For Kid

Yellowstone National Park is the largest national park in the world fetching around 4 million visitors every year.
This national park experiences approximately 1,000 to 3,000 earthquakes every year.
80% of the land is covered by forest, the other 15% of the land is grassland, and the rest 5% is water.
This park contains the largest hot springs which are called the Grand Prismatic Springs.
One of the earliest explorers to the national park was stranded there for 37 days.
This National Park is also a designated World Heritage Site and designated Biosphere Reserve.
Spread over an area of 28,000 square acres, it is the largest intact temperate ecosystem in the earth’s northern temperate zone.
It is home to Steamboat, the world’s tallest active geyser which can erupt at a height of more than 300 feet.
Eagle Peak is the highest point in the park at 3,462 m and Reese Creek is the lowest point of the park at 1,610 m.
Yellowstone Lake has 141 miles of shoreline and is 20 miles long from north to south.
Yellowstone National Park is home to numerous ranges of waterfalls, geysers, and springs. The tallest waterfall in the park is the Lower Falls at 308 ft.
Yellowstone has an extraordinary climate due to the presence of Rocky Mountains. In winter, the temperature ranges from -4 to 23 degrees Celsius.
The park is open all year round. Boating and fishing are allowed on the lakes and rivers but visitors need to seek permission before doing so.