Fog Over Hayden Valley

Blue Bells

The blue bell is a plant that is native to western Europe, particularly the British Isles. It has spread to North America where it is now found in the northwest and northeastern United States. I photographed this flower in Yellowstone where it was one of the few species of wild flowers that was already in bloom at the end of May.

Big Horn Ram

Tower Falls

On the northeast side of Yellowstone National Park, Tower Creak plunges 132 feet on its way to converge with the Yellowstone River. Tower Falls was named by Samuel Hauser, a member of the Washburn  Expedition, in 1870. He named it Tower Falls after the rock pinnacles that surround the top of the falls.

Soggy Coyote

Lower Falls

The lower falls is the larger section of the two part Yellowstone Falls. The Yellowstone River leaves Yellowstone Lake and heads north. It wonders through the Hayden valley and then plunges 109 feet over the Upper falls. It travels another quarter of a mile and then it plunges another 308 feet down into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. At over 300 feet it is almost twice as high as Niagara Falls. It was named in 1869 by the Cook, Folsom, Peterson Expedition.

Another Yellowstone View

Moose

Emerald Pool

Yellowstone has more geological features that any where else in the world. A great deal of the park is on top of the Yellowstone Caldera. This is a hot spot with molten rock rises toward the surface. This is one of the things that makes Yellowstone such a wondrous place. The emerald pool is one of the geological features that is found in the Black Sand Basin which is near Old Faithful.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Common Raven

Lamar Valley

The Lamar Valley is a long valley that sits in between flowing hills on the northeast side of Yellowstone National Park. The valley follows the Lamar River from which it got its name. Another name that you often here for Lamar is the Serengeti of North America. The wide open valley is frequently home to herds of bison and pronghorn. Dear and big horn sheep are often found along its peripherals along with the occasional moose. Fox, coyote, badgers, ground squirrels and other smaller mammals scurry through the grass and sage while golden eagles, red-tailed hawk, osprey and other birds of prey circle in the sky above. The creatures that you see most frequently is the wild life watcher. People with their large scopes hoping to get a quick glance of one of the elusive wolves. Lamar was good to us this year especially on our last day in the park. We did not get to see any wolves but this large grizzly crossed the road near where we were parked. Yellowstone is one of the few places south of Canada where you can see a grizzly. In 1975 the grizzly bear was listed as a threatened species in the lower 48 states. Extensive hunting and habitat loss decimated a population that once stretched from Alaska to Mexico. Yellowstone was listed as one of six recovery areas for the species. In 1975 the Yellowstone grizzly population was estimated at 136 bears that occupied a territory of about 5 million acres. By 210 the population had increased to 602 occupying 14 million acres. While the Yellowstone numbers are hopeful they account for over half of the estimated grizzly bear population in the lower 48 states. Grizzly bears require a good deal of territory to roam and as a predator they are often misunderstood and maligned by people who make a living raising livestock in the region.     

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

The golden-mantled ground squirrel is found in mountainous areas of western North America. They look similar to chipmunks with stripes running up their sides but they do have any stripes on their faces as chipmunks do. They act similar to chipmunks, carrying food in their cheeks. They carry it back to their shallow burrow, which is often located under the rocks or tree roots. They need to eat a lot to build up fat reserves. Because unlike the Uinta chipmunks, who share their habitat, the golden-mantled ground squirrel hibernates through the winter. However they do also cache some food so that they can eat right away when they wake up in the spring.    

Reflection in a Geothermal Pool

When we were at Yellowstone I photographed the reflection of the sky in one of the geothermal pools at the West Thumb. With the color in the pool the reflection came out looking  a lot like an oil painting of the sky.

SkyWatch Friday

Here is another sky shot from Yellowstone. With all of the rainy cloudy days that we have had here in Minnesota since we got back its almost hard to remember what blue skies look like. Thank heaven for SkyWatch Friday.

Yellow-bellied Marmot

Yellowstone Bison

 Yellowstone is the only place in the lower 48 states of the US where bison have roamed continually. Over 3000 bison roam the park. They are divided into two group or herds, the northern herd and the Hayden Valley or central herd. The Yellowstone bison are pure bison with no cattle genes. They are descendant from the small herd that continued on and was protected in Yellowstone.

North Twin Lake - Yellowstone

Big Sky Country

Ungulate

 Ungulates are large mammals which support their weight on the tips of their hoofs when they walk. Yellowstone is filled with ungulates. There are several members of the deer family including elk and moose and the largest ungulate in North America the bison. At one time there was estimated to be over 50 million bison that roamed North America but they were hunted by the early European settlers until they were almost extinct.

The bison herds of Yellowstone are protected from hunters. Grizzly Bears and wolves occasionally take calves, the sick and old. The main thing attacking bison in Yellowstone are fleas, flies, ticks and other pests. In the top photo a dust bath on the prairie helps to remove some of the parasites. If that does not work you might be able to get an occasional hitch hiker to help out. Birds such as cowbirds and European starling, above, often ride around on the back of the bison and pick off insects. This is a symbiotic relationship which provides food for the birds and some relief from the bison.