Yellowstone Park Facts for Kids

Yellowstone Park is the biggest and oldest national park in America. It is a tourist attraction that receives thousands of visitors every year who visit to explore and marvel at the beauty of this natural landmark. Yellowstone Park is located in two U.S. states; Wyoming and Montana, with its largest occurrence spanning across Wyoming. It boasts an array of wildlife, plants, forests, springs, a super volcano and the Old Faithful Geyser.

Factsmania teaches kids interesting facts about Yellowstone Park and include important information about this national park's climate, vegetation, forests, volcano, geysers, tourist attractions, animals, plants, temperature, weather conditions and the natural geography of Yellowstone National Park.

Interesting Yellowstone Park Facts for Kids:- Our printable fact sheet on Yellowstone Park provides free facts for school kids and teachers, and may be used for homework help or as an information guide to this unique natural landmark. Did you know that the Old Faithful Geyser is located in Yellowstone Park? Did you know that this is the largest national park in America? Did you know that Yellowstone Lake sits on top of the largest super volcano caldera in North America?

Interesting Yellowstone Park Facts for Kids:- Our free Interesting Yellowstone Park Facts for Kids can be printed for free and focus on important facts and information. Learn about one of the greatest natural landmarks in America with interesting facts about Yellowstone Park's history, formation and natural geography.

Interesting Yellowstone Park Facts for Kids

Yellowstone Park Fact File for Kids:- Official Name Facts: Yellowstone National Park *** Location: Yellowstone Park is located majorly in the state of Wyoming, America *** Size: Almost 3,500 miles square *** History: Yellowstone was established as a National Park in 1872 *** Climate: Dependent on season *** Major visitor attractions of Yellowstone Park: Animals, plants, super volcano, springs, geysers including the famous Old Faithful Geyser

Interesting Facts for Kids 1:- Where is Yellowstone Park located?
Deep in the rocky northern regions of the United States, on the Northwest volcanic region of Wyoming is the Yellowstone National Park. Situated along the continental divide, 96% of Yellowstone lies in Wyoming with only 3% in northern Montana. The remaining 1% lies in the west of Idaho. The park is surrounded by towns such as West Yellowstone and Cooke City in Montana; Jackson Hole and Cody in Wyoming and Island Park in Idaho.

Interesting Facts for Kids 2:- What is Yellowstone Park?
Yellowstone Park is the oldest, largest and most popular national park in the country. Every year, millions of people visit the recreational park to explore the wilderness and see the colourful hot springs and geysers in what is the largest active geyser field in the world. The Old Faithful geyser is one of the most popular attractions of Yellowstone as it erupts more frequently, with each blast expelling between 3,700 to 8,400 gallons of boiling water. The hot springs together with the park’s rich biodiversity, dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, plateaus and numerous waterfalls makes Yellowstone a one stop natural haven to witness the beauty and violence of nature.

Interesting Facts for Kids 3:- How big is Yellowstone Park?
Yellowstone is the largest park in the country covering a land area of almost 3500 Square miles. It has five entrances, facilities and roads that ease navigation and access to the park. Due to the large size of the park, visitors are encourage to first figure out what they want to see and then find out which portal is closest to the area so as to save time.

Interesting Facts for Kids 4:- Yellowstone Park History
Yellowstone was established as the first national park in 1872. It is believe that Yellowstone has been a home to humans 11,000 years ago as shown by archaeological sites but it was not until the 1870’s when the first organised expedition explored Yellowstone. The arrival of railroad in 1883 made the park more accessible to visitors and in 1915 automobiles were allowed to access the park, making visits easier and economical. As time went on, the management of the park was gradually improved to sustain wildlife with notable adjustments including better wildlife management following the recommendations in the 1963 Leopold report. Over time, open pit garbage dumps was eliminated to protect bears and in 1995, grey wolves were re-introduced into Yellowstone after most have been killed around the late 1800s by humans to protect livestock. As of January 2014, there were at least 104 wolves living primarily in Yellowstone although they are still listed as endangered species in Wyoming.

Interesting Facts for Kids 5:- What animals are in Yellowstone Park?
Yellowstone is a home to more wild animals than almost anywhere else in the US. There are 61 different mammals in the park including elks, grey wolves, black bears, grizzlies, mule, deer, bison and many more. Reptiles do not fare well in Yellowstone due to cool dry conditions of the park and only six species of reptiles currently exist. These include: the bull snake, prairie rattlesnake, rubber boa, sagebrush lizard, valley garter snake and the wandering garter snake. Amphibian species are also limited in the park like the reptiles with one species of salamander and 3 frog species. With over 70 species of birds in Yellowstone, birdwatching is a popular activity in the park. Birds that can be spotted include trumpeter swans, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, loons, and ospreys. The lake of Yellowstone supports the largest inland population of cutthroat trout in the world that fed on the plentiful aquatic and terrestrial insects of Yellowstone such as beetles, ants, grasshoppers, bees, blue winged olives, caddisflies, etc. Park visitors are advised to read the park safety rules and keep a safe distance from wild animals especially females with young to avoid any injuries.

Interesting Facts for Kids 6:- Why are animals leaving Yellowstone Park?
Enjoying many years of protection, the animals of Yellowstone have flourished over the years especially with the absence of large natural disasters such as violent volcanic eruptions and massive earthquakes. However on March 30, 2014 a massive earthquake of magnitude 4.8 occurred 4 miles north-northeast of Norris Geyser Basin which was felt in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone frequently experiences earthquake swarms but this was the largest earthquake in Yellowstone since 1980s. Following this event, a mass exodus of bison, deer and other animals from Yellowstone was observed but where some saw a normal animal migration towards greener pastures others argue that the animals are fleeing from the violent earthquake in the park. Talking to CNN, lead scientist at the US Geological services Jake Loewenstern explains that those bison are running because that is what they do every day. Although wolves did not migrate from the park, the migration of prey negatively affects the wolf population who now have to compete over limited prey. This scarcity prompts wolfs to hunt outside of their territories where many get killed in territorial fights.

Interesting Facts for Kids 7:- What plants are in Yellowstone Park?
The Flora of Yellowstone is just as interesting as it fauna. With over 1000 native plant species and 225 non-native plant species, the park has about 100 different wild flowers, nine coniferous tree species (white spruce, Douglas-fir, rocky mountain juniper, limber pine, lodgepole pines etc.) and some deciduous species including cotton wood and quacking aspen. Shrubs include many species of sage brush, rocky mountain maple with Ross bent’s grass and Yellowstone verbena only found within the park. Vegetation of Yellowstone is more concentrated around the Rocky Mountains with elements of the Great Plains and Great Basin floras mixing with Rocky Mountain vegetation in the vicinity of Gardiner and Stephen's Creek. The rare plant species are mostly found around the hydrothermal regions.

Interesting Facts for Kids 8:- Yellowstone Park Weather
The weather in Yellowstone can be very unpredictable. Park visitors should always pack a wide range of clothing such as a rain coat and warm gear when planning an adventure as temperatures change very fast. In the spring and fall, daytime temperate range from 0 to 20C whilst overnight temperature can get low as -20C. Snow is also common in this period mostly accumulating to 12 inches within one day. In summer, the daytime temperatures in Yellowstone Park are often around 25C before dropping below freezing point at night. Thunderstorms are also common during this time. A common winter day temperature in Yellowstone usually ranges from -20C to -5C and in the night temperature sometimes get very low to -54C.

Interesting Facts for Kids 9:- Yellowstone Park Volcano
Blending beautifully among the lush forests, colourful springs and natural habitats of Yellowstone, lies a super volcano. You will not notice it walking through the park or as you marvel at the geysers even as they spurt jets of boiling water indicating the tremendous heat below. Like it happened before around 640,000 years ago, scientist today believe that an 8 magnitude eruption or super volcanic eruption is bound to happen again in Yellowstone. But Judging from past eruptions, volcanologist at USGS do not believe that the eruption will spread far beyond the park boundaries. Yet still, in a 2014 ash study, Larry Mastin, also a USGS volcanologist said that "People who live upwind from eruptions need to be concerned about the big ones," meaning the volcanic ash. In the same year, the journal of Geo Chemistry, Geophysics and Geosystems reported that a super volcanic eruption in Yellowstone will likely cause an 800km circle of wind flung ash choking the people living in the pacific whilst cause destruction of agriculture and clog rivers and streams in the Midwest.

Interesting Facts for Kids 10:- Yellowstone Park Attractions
As mentioned earlier, Yellowstone is a very large and diverse park and people are attracted towards the park for many reasons. In Yellowstone you will get to watch geysers erupt and observe large colourful hot springs. You will also get to see wild animals roaming free in their natural habitat, hike the mountains such as Mt. Washburn, experiences the pink and yellow walls of the Grand Canyon and the three glorious waterfalls. And if you like water sports, you can paddle along the shores of Yellowstone Lake or raft down the many rivers. Fishing and camping is also a popular activity around the Yellowstone Lake and around many campsites. Besides these natural attractions, Yellowstone Park also has Animal Centres to teach you about animals, Dinosaur and Fossil museums, there also 2 Casinos and hotels around the park for gaming and entertainment. You can also visit historic sites such as a Ghost Towns in Wyoming, Idaho or Montana. There is even gold and treasure hunting in Yellowstone or Montana am many more.

Interesting Yellowstone Park Facts for Kids