The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is an awe-inspiring canyon that is 800 to 1,200 feet deep, 1,500 – 4,000 feet wide and 20 miles long. Because of the Rhyolite that makes up the canyon, it appears to be painted with reds, oranges and coppers. The Yellowstone River, the longest un-dammed river in the Continental United Sates, is the force that created the canyon. It begins on the slope of Yount Peak, south of the park, and flows 600 miles to North Dakota where it then empties into the Missouri River. From different areas in the canyon you can view the two impressive waterfalls—The Upper Falls that drop 109 feet and the Lower Falls that plunge 308 feet into the river. Trappers and prospectors who visited the region had knowledge of the canyon, but Charles Cook was credited with discovering the canyon. He was with the Cook-Folsom- Peterson expedition of 1869. He said “I sat there in amazement while my companions came up, and after that, it seemed to me that it was five minutes before anyone spoke.” The spectacular colors of the canyon inspired one of the most famous landscape artists in America, Thomas Moran, who stated..” Yellowstone retains its hold upon my imagination with a vividness of yesterday…The impression then made upon me by the stupendous and remarkable manifestations of nature’s forces will remain with me as long as memory lasts.” |
