360Yellowstone becomes the world's first national park
On 1 March 1872, US President Ulysses S. Grant signed a law making Yellowstone, in the Rocky Mountains, the world's first national park, protected 'for the benefit and enjoyment of the people'. Home to geysers, hot springs, canyons and wildlife such as bison and wolves, it inspired a worldwide movement. There are now thousands of national parks.
Native American peoples had lived in and around Yellowstone for thousands of years. In the 1860s and 1870s, explorers returned east with tales of boiling springs and water shooting into the sky.
In 1871, the geologist Ferdinand Hayden led a survey of the area, with the painter Thomas Moran and the photographer William Henry Jackson. Their pictures helped persuade Congress to protect the land.
On 1 March 1872, President Grant signed the act creating Yellowstone National Park, covering almost 9,000 square kilometres across parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
Yellowstone sits on top of a vast volcanic system and has more geysers than anywhere else on Earth, including Old Faithful. Wolves were brought back in 1995. Other countries followed its example, and national parks now protect landscapes on every continent.
- 1871
- The Hayden survey explores Yellowstone
- 1 March 1872
- Yellowstone National Park is created
- 1916
- The US National Park Service is founded
- 1995
- Wolves return to Yellowstone
Sources: US National Park Service · Britannica.