In the early 1800s, explorers like Jim Berger returned home from expeditions across the western U.S., describing a region near present-day Montana consisting of bursting geysers, bubbling mud pots, steaming vents, and hot spring pools.
However, no one believed them until Hayden’s Geological Survey explored the region in 1871. The survey returned with photographic proof of the region’s otherworldly features, convincing everyone of its unique beauty, including President Ulysses S. Grant.
The following year, Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, establishing the area as the world’s first protected national park.
Read on for the complete, condensed history of Yellowstone National Park, from its ancient origins to today.
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Table of contents:
- First discoveries (early 1800s)
- First organized expeditions (1860s – 1870s)
- Establishment of Yellowstone National Park (1872)
- Railroads and cars, more visitors
- Geysers, mud pots, and steaming rivers
- Geological origins of Yellowstone National Park’s wonders – Yellowstone Caldera
- Indigenous tribes of Yellowstone – Before Europeans arrived
History of Yellowstone National Park
Below, I cover the complete, condensed history of Yellowstone National Park, from its geological origins to today.
I start with the early European explorations of the Yellowstone region. Next, I explore the region’s geological origins and reveal how this landscape came to be.
First discoveries (early 1800s)
The first discoveries of Yellowstone National Park by European-American settlers were largely conducted privately by various mountain men and fur trappers throughout the early 1800s. These included Jon Colter, a former member of the Lewis & Clark expedition, and mountain man Jim Bridger.
John Colter – the first explorer of Yellowstone
The first exploration of the Yellowstone area was by James Colter, a member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition that passed through Montana in 1805. While the Crow, Nez Perce, and Shoshone tribes told the expedition about the Yellowstone area, the expedition passed it by.
In 1806, on the return journey from the Pacific, Colter left the expedition to join a group of trappers. However, in 1807, he struck out on his own. He first discovered Yellowstone in the winter of 1807-1808 after a run-in with local tribes. In his escape, he crossed hundreds of miles of territory, eventually crossing through present-day Yellowstone National Park.
He described the region as a land of “fire and brimstone”, though his peers dismissed his reports as delirium. They gave the area the nickname, “Colter’s Hell”.
Further explorations
For the next 40 years, mountain men and trappers continued to the Yellowstone area, returning home with similar tales as Colter’s, and facing the same skepticism.
After visiting Yellowstone in 1856, mountain man Jim Bridger returned home with stories of boiling springs, spouting water, mountains of glass, and yellow rock.
In 1859, an organized survey led by Bridger, including U.S. Army Surveyor and Captain William F. Reynolds and geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden, set off to survey the southern Rockies.
After camping in the Wind River region of Wyoming, severe weather conditions prevented them from continuing west, crossing the Continental Divide. If they’d continued west and crossed the pass, they would have been the first official survey to enter Yellowstone.
The start of the Civil War in 1861 halted further exploration of the Yellowstone area, and the region remained a mystery for another decade.
Organized expeditions of Yellowstone (1860s – 1870s)
Yellowstone expeditions resumed in 1869, after the Civil War ended. Many of these expeditions were organized, government-funded surveys that eventually led to the formation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872.
First expedition: Washburn-Langford-Doan expedition of 1870
The Washburn-Langford-Doan expedition of 1870 was led by Montana surveyor general Henry Washburn and included Nathaniel P. Langford and writer and lawyer Cornelius Hedges.
The team spent a month collecting various species throughout the Yellowstone area and naming various points of interest. During this trip, the idea of establishing the region as a national park was born when Hedges suggested the area be protected for the enjoyment of future generations to come.
After the team returned home, Hedges wrote a series of articles for the Helena Herald over the following year promoting his idea and vision for the area.
Final expedition: Hayden Geological Survey of 1871
The Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 was the last of the three expeditions that finally tipped the scales in Congress, leading to the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872.
The other two influential expeditions were the 1869 Folsom-Cook expedition and the previously mentioned 1870 Washburn expedition.
Hayden’s first attempt at reaching Yellowstone in 1859 failed. But in 1871, he led a successful, federally-funded expedtion to the region.
The Hayden-led group conducted a comprehensive study of the entire Yellowstone area. Hayden brought along photographer William Henry Jackson and painter Thomas Moran to document the landscape.
Meanwhile, Northern Pacific Railroad (NP) financier James Cooke decided to promote Yellowstone as a tourist destination on the NP line. Cooke encouraged Hayden to mention the tourist potential of the area in the survey’s final report.
Hayden’s final report included stunning photographs and paintings of Yellowstone’s incredible geysers, rivers, and hot pots. The report convinced Congress of the area’s exceptional beauty and inherent value, leading to the establishment of Yellowstone National Park a year later.
Establishment of Yellowstone National Park (1872)
On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, officially establishing Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park. This was a monumental achievement – a reality that conservationists and naturalists across the continent had dreamed of for years.
Shortly after its establishment, the park saw around 300 visitors per year. However, a lack of funding resulted in a lack of adequate protection. For more than a decade, vandalism and resource exploitation ensued throughout the park.
Vandalism in the park
Initially, the government felt it wasn’t necessary to set aside federal funding for the park. The first superintendent of the park, Nathaniel P. Langford, received no salary, and without substantial funding and legal support, he failed to adequately protect the park.
In 1872, Langford brought the issue to the Secretary of the Interior; however, Congress refused to take action.
In 1875, a survey of the park led by Colonel William Ludlow observed and reported on the widespread lawlessness and vandalism occurring throughout the area.
George Bird Grinnell, who would later become a key figure in the establishment of Glacier National Park, joined Ludlow in the survey and included a personal attachment in Ludlow’s report detailing the large-scale poaching he witnessed in the park.
Vandalism and poaching continued throughout the park until 1886, when the U.S. Army decided to step in.
U.S. Army interferes, stops park vandalism
By 1877, Langford had stepped down, and the three superintendents who followed Langford also lacked the manpower and resources to adequately protect the park.
In 1886, the U.S. Army stepped in, built Camp Sheridan at Mammoth Hot Springs, and took full control of the park. With proper funding and manpower, the Army developed policies and regulations for park management and protection while maintaining an effective watch over the entire area.
For the next 22 years, they built permanent structures throughout the park, and Camp Sheridan became Fort Yellowstone.
A long-term solution emerged in 1894, when Congress passed the Lacey Act, a landmark piece of legislation that established Yellowstone as the first wildlife refuge in the country. The Lacey Act created legal avenues for prosecuting violators, established legal definitions of a national park, and expanded the territory of Yellowstone by 3,344 mi² (8,661 m²).
When the National Park Service (NPS) was established in 1916, its doctrine was also based on the laws and regulations of the Lacey Act.
The Army left in 1918 and passed on many of its policies, regulations, and principles to the NPS. By this time, park protections were well-developed and effective. These protections arrived on time, as the railroads were bringing more annual visitors to the park.
Railroads and cars, more visitors
In the 19th century, the expanding railroad network across the United States changed tourism across the region.
In 1883, the Northern Pacific Railroad (NP) built a railway station in Livingston, Montana. They later built another station in Gardiner, which connected visitors to Yellowstone’s Mammoth Hot Springs via stagecoach. Suddenly, people from around the country had a quick and convenient means of reaching Yellowstone National Park.
While the park’s visitation was around 300 in 1872, by 1883, this number had risen to 5,000. Trains continued to service Yellowstone for several more decades, serving as a popular means of transportation to the park for people nationwide.
In 1915, automobiles were admitted to the park, with roughly 1,000 cars visiting annually. By the 1960s, horse travel had been banned throughout the park, and car travel had completely replaced rail travel.
By this time, visitors were coming to Yellowstone National Park in the thousands. Guided by a network of roads and minimal infrastructure, they could enjoy all of the wonders Yellowstone had to offer.
Over the following century, the federal government continued implementing various initiatives, such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), further developing Yellowstone National Park’s infrastructure into the developed park we know today.
Yellowstone National Park today: Geysers, mud pots, and steam
Today, visitors can explore the park through a network of roads and trails and see its geysers, steam vents, and bubbling mud pots.
The hot springs display various colors spanning the entire rainbow. The algae in the water offers a color-coding, with green meaning the coolest temperatures and orange meaning the hottest.
Top sights throughout the park include the following:
- Steamboat Geyser (Norris Geyser Basin). The highest hot spring in the park shoots to 400 ft (122 m) at unpredictable intervals that range from four days to 50 years.
- Clepsydra Geyser (Lower Geyser Basin). A steadily spouting geyser that sends water 45 ft (14 m) into the air.
- Great Fountain (Lower Geyser Basin). One of the few drive-up geysers in the park, this one is surrounded by terraced pools reflecting the colors of the sky.
- Grand Prismatic (Midway Geyser Basin). The largest hot spring pool in Yellowstone National Park at 300 ft (91 m) wide.
Other top sites include the Excelsior Geyser, which emits thousands of gallons of 199-F° (93-C°) water each minute. The boiling water flows into the nearby Firehole River, raising its water temperature several degrees.
Yellowstone’s enigmatic features are the tip of a geothermal network that’s been developing below the earth’s surface for millions of years. Without it, Yellowstone wouldn’t exist.
In the following sections, I discuss the history of Yellowstone National Park before European settlers arrived, from its geological origins to 14,000 years ago, when native tribes called the region home.
Geological origin of Yellowstone National Park: Yellowstone Caldera
Yellowstone is a sleeping giant. Deep beneath the park’s surface lies one of the earth’s largest and oldest caldera volcanoes, stretching roughly 50 miles (80 km) long and 40 miles (65 km) wide.
Many of the park’s active geysers, hot pots, and steam vents are located inside this caldera.
Yellowstone’s geysers are the tip of the iceberg. Except this isn’t an iceberg – it’s an enormous network of molten rock, called magma, feeding into a chamber located roughly 5 miles (8 km) beneath the park. It swells, cools, and shrinks over time. It erupts once every 700,000 years.
The parts of this geothermal activity that break through the earth’s crust comprise the enigmatic sights of the park that humans have marveled at for centuries.
640,000 years ago – The last eruption
The Yellowstone caldera’s three largest eruptions have occurred in roughly 700,000-year intervals, with the last one occurring 640,000 years ago.
Scientists have found evidence of Yellowstone’s last eruption, including ash, magma, and other debris, thousands of miles from the park across in places like Louisiana.
How big was the last eruption? To give you an idea of just how big this eruption was, scientists estimate it was 1,000 times larger than the well-known 1980 Mt Saint Helens eruption.
When it blew, it sent enormous plumes of gas, ash, and smoke into the air, likely covering a third of the planet in total darkness. Evidence of this eruption can be found today inside the caldera, in a region of the park called the Lava Creek Tuff.
Indigenous tribes of Yellowstone – Before Europeans arrived
Since the last eruption, this region of North America has been quiet. The last Ice Age has passed, allowing new life and ecosystems to thrive in the park, including the local indigenous tribes that moved in roughly 11,000 years ago.
14,000 years ago – First tribes of Yellowstone
During the last Ice Age, the Laurentide Ice Sheet stretched from Arctic Canada to the northern region of North America. As it slowly receded, various species in present-day southwest Montana went extinct, new ecosystems flourished, and tribes began occupying the area.
Obsidian tools discovered throughout Yellowstone National Park and other artifacts discovered around Yellowstone Lake indicate the presence of human activity here as far back as 11,000 years ago. The oral histories of the local tribes, such as the Salish and Crow, coincide with roughly the same timeline.
Scientists estimate that the Crow arrived in the Yellowstone region in the 1500s and the Sioux in the 1700s. However, scientists estimate the Wind River Shoshone (also known as the Sheepeaters), the only tribe known to reside in the Yellowstone area year-round, arrived in the 14th or 15th century.
As the Laurentide Ice Sheet receded from North America, the region’s tribes adapted to the increasingly warmer conditions. They shifted away from hunting large animals, such as the giant bison, and adopted a diverse diet consisting of smaller animals, such as deer, sheep, bison, bear, and goats.
This lifestyle persisted for 9,500 years until about 3,000 years ago, when the climate became substantially warmer and human activity in the area increased dramatically.
For the past 3,000 years, the indigenous tribes of Yellowstone established many of the lifestyle habits and ways of life we are familiar with today. They became more reliant on the bison and developed new technology, such as tipis, pishkuns (buffalo jumps), sheep traps, and bows and arrows.
During this time, the tribes also established a network of trails throughout Yellowstone, many of which are still in use today. The tribes used locally sourced obsidian to fashion tools, which they traded with other tribes across North America. Obsidian from Yellowstone has been discovered as far east as the Mississippi Valley.
The native tribes of Yellowstone are seen as the first stewards of this land. They lived here harmoniously within the Yellowstone ecosystem for thousands of years. Their sustainable lifestyle was rooted in their understanding of the balance between nature and man’s needs.
Yellowstone National Park today
Due to the impact of European settlers, Yellowstone’s current ecology differs greatly from its primeval ecology. However, the NPS has married the tribes’ land wisdom with modern science, showing some success in preserving the park’s ecosystems.
Today, roads and boardwalks offer visitors an up-close view of the most incredible geysers, steam vents, mud pots, and rainbow-colored hot springs the park offers – all while preserving the natural integrity of the local ecosystem.
