Yellowstone National Park, National preserve in northwestern Wyoming, southern Montana, and eastern Idaho, U.S. The oldest national park in the U.S.—and generally regarded as the oldest in the world—it was established by the U.S. Congress in 1872. It covers 3,472 sq mi (8,987 sq km). The Gallatin, Absaroka, and Teton mountain ranges extend into it. Yellowstone has unusual geologic features, including fossil forests and eroded basaltic lava flows, and some 10,000 hydrothermal features, including hot springs, steam vents, fumaroles, and geysers. Old Faithful, the park’s most famous geyser, erupts about every 60 to 110 minutes, the average being roughly 90 minutes. Notable among the park’s many lakes and rivers are Yellowstone Lake, Shoshone Lake, the Snake River, and the Yellowstone River. In 1988 an extensive series of forest fires temporarily laid waste to large areas of the park, but the tree cover gradually returned.
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