I think Yellowstone National Park is the most varied and interesting natural destination on the planet. If you've never visited, you should add this to your bucket list. Its sights are truly remarkable!
The park is best known for its geothermal activity, these being the most active on the planet. In addition to geysers, boiling mud pots and colorful geothermal pools, there are beautiful valleys with herds of bison, lovely lakes, and a variety of wildlife ranging from porcupines to grizzly bears to wolves.
A popular and beautiful destination within the park is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This canyon awards the visitor with several incredible waterfalls and views of steep multicolored (red, gold, black, orange) rock walls. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was carved by the Yellowstone River into the soft rock of the area, which had been weakened by geothermal gases and hot pressurized water.
(Yellowstone River upstream of Upper Falls)
The canyon is about 20 miles long, up to 1200 ft deep and up to 4000 ft wide. It's not as massive as Arizona's Grand Canyon but is still awe inspiring.
(Upper Falls)
The Canyon begins with Upper Falls, where the Yellowstone River plunges 109 feet. It's an impressive waterfall, as you can see from the accompanying photos and videoclips.
(View from the top edge of Upper Falls)
One of the most impressive aspects of Upper Falls is that you can go to the top edge of the waterfall and experience the power of the Yellowstone River as it plunges over 100 ft (see above videoclip). Flows are most pronounced in the spring after the snow thaws, when the river can flow at up to 64,000 gallons/second. The rate drops throughout the summer. These photos were taken in late July.
Beautiful Lower Falls provides the well-known iconic image of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The falls plunge 308 feet.
Besides looking at the falls, be sure to survey the beautiful Canyon and the Yellowstone River as it continues its journey seaward. The photo shown below was used as last weekend's One Clue Mystery Photo.....
The site was recognized by George G, Deborah C, and Roderick S. Congratulations to all for their good detective work!
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone has impressed people who've visited it for thousands of years. Be sure to experience its beauty firsthand someday.
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