June 29th – July 13th, 2023
We spent nine total days exploring Yellowstone National Park. Because Yellowstone sits on an inactive volcano, it is known well for the hot springs, geysers and that make it the largest concentration of thermal features in the world. But not all the water in the park is hot.
Yellowstone is filled with rivers, streams and waterfalls that are fed from the melt of mountain snow. Over 14 rivers run through the park and while we were visiting, they were filled to the brim and flowing furiously.
Other rivers flowed lazily alone and attracted some of the magnificent residents of Yellowstone!
Yellowstone River is the largest running through the park. We saw fly fisher-people hip deep, rods flashing – searching for supper. The fish that was originally most prevalent in the region was the cut throat trout. For years they were excessively fished and then either accidentally or on purpose someone introduced lake trout to the area.
Seems like it would not be a big deal. A trout is a trout, right? Not exactly. Turns out the lake trout love to eat the roe of the cut throat and because they swim more deeply, they are not as available to bear and other animals in the park who fish to feed themselves and their family.
The waterfalls in the park were equally as majestic and powerful during our visit. Yellowstonepark.com states that the park features over 300 waterfalls. The largest is Lower Falls at over 300 feet tall. Upper Falls is just over 100 feet tall but is just as beautiful!
