European American explorers and trappers began travelling to Yellowstone around the turn of the nineteenth century. John Colter was the first known European American to visit the region in 1807-8, and mountain man Jim Bridger explored Yellowstone with horses and mules in the 1830s. Tall tales about Yellowstone’s natural features were mostly dismissed as fiction, but the stories proved intriguing to many. David S. Folsom, Charles W. Cook, and William Peterson of Montana conducted a horseback expedition of what is now the park in 1869, and wrote about the landscape and mapped the area’s unique features. Their descriptions of the region inspired Surveyor-General of Montana Henry Washburn, businessman and politician Nathaniel P. Langford, and U.S. Army Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane to lead an expedition to the area in 1870. Langford’s 1871 article, “The Wonders of the Yellowstone” in Scribner’s Monthly captured the public’s imagination with its descriptions of the area’s striking natural features.
In 1871, Ferdinand V. Hayden of the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories led a government-funded survey of the region with a team of scientists and artists, including photographer William Henry Jackson and painter Thomas Moran. The survey yielded scientific and artistic documentation of Yellowstone’s natural phenomena, including geologic samples, photographs, and paintings. The sheer wonder of Yellowstone told through these materials convinced Congress to pass legislation establishing Yellowstone as the world’s first national park in 1872.
In 1871, Ferdinand V. Hayden of the U.S. Geological Survey of the Territories led a government-funded survey of the region with a team of scientists and artists, including photographer William Henry Jackson and painter Thomas Moran. The survey yielded scientific and artistic documentation of Yellowstone’s natural phenomena, including geologic samples, photographs, and paintings. The sheer wonder of Yellowstone told through these materials convinced Congress to pass legislation establishing Yellowstone as the world’s first national park in 1872.
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Beaver TrapYellowstone National Park, YELL 14706
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Map of Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone National Park, YELL 18850
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Nathaniel P. LangfordYellowstone National Park, YELL 8179
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Stock SaddleYellowstone National Park, YELL 7073
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Hayden Expedition Party of 1870Yellowstone National Park, YELL 7542
Last updated: June 6, 2024