Lower Falls, Yellowstone National Park, USA by Jeroen van Deel

About "Lower Falls, Yellowstone National Park, USA"

by Jeroen van Deel

About the artwork

Yellowstone National Park is a national park in the United States, mainly in Wyoming, but with small portions in the neighbouring states of Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone covers an area of 8983 km², making it one of the largest national parks in the United States. The average elevation in the park is 2440 metres. Most of the park consists of forest in Wyoming. The park is home to many animal species, including bison, deer, several species of bear, coyotes and wolves.

Lower Falls, the largest waterfall in Yellowstone, is undoubtedly the most famous in the park. The 308-metre-high waterfall is probably the second most photographed spot in Yellowstone, with Old Faithful Geyser in first place. There are numerous views of the falls from both the east (Inspiration Point, Grandview Point and Lookout Point) and west (Artists Point) sides of the Grand Canyon, and most of them require only a short hike or virtually no hiking to see. The trail to the top of the Falls (3/4 of a mile around, but steep with many switchbacks) is a must, as the experience of standing on top of the Falls is one of the most breathtaking experiences in the entire Park.

The colours of the canyon were created by the action of hot water on volcanic rock. It was not these colours, but the yellow banks of the river at its distant confluence with the Missouri River, that gave the Minnetaree Indian name that French trappers translated as roche jaune, yellow stone. The canyon has deepened rapidly more than once, perhaps due to large glacial eruptions. Today, little deepening takes place.