Free Essay On Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is the world’s oldest national park. It is also well-known for housing a variety of wild animals and plants, and for its unique geological features (Yellowstone Media, 2013). This park was built in order to protect an ecosystem that hasn’t been altered by human beings. It is primarily located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, but some areas are within the jurisdiction of Idaho and Montana. Established on the 1st of March 1872, it has the size of 2.2 million acres, according to National Geographic (2015). Furthermore, the park is larger than the combined land areas of Rhode Island and Delaware.
Yellowstone, above everything that is inside it, is famous for its geysers and hot springs. Geysers are hot springs that periodically shoot out water, sometimes accompanied by some steam. These eruptions are caused by the heated water below-ground that is trapped by the water surface (Gourley, 2015). Hot springs, compared to geysers, have enough underground channels that allow rapid circulations. It is said that the park contains more hot springs than any other place on earth (National Geographic, 2015).
According to the records, there had been an explosion near the center of the park some 640,000 years ago. All of a sudden, ash is everywhere leaving a caldera at the center. It is believed that this cataclysmic event was preceded by at least two other more, leaving hot springs, geysers, mud spots, and fumaroles (National Geographic, 2015).
One of the most recent news about Yellowstone Park was about a buffalo that charged into an SUV, a Nissan Xterra (Durando, 2015). Tom Carter, an amateur photographer, uploaded the video on YouTube of the buffalo that looks like that it is being agitated by the car. Carter recounted that there were a number of cars chasing the buffalo. The park prohibits harassing wildlife but the drivers did not give the animals space when the animal became agitated.
What just happened was pretty much like an animal not wanting a foreign animal or object “trespassing” in its home. I guess this is what really disturbed the buffalo that rammed into their car. This is similar to what happens when virus or bacteria enter our body, which recognizes that it has an intruder within its premises. Our body takes action and deploys immune cells (such as leukocytes) in order to fight off these trespassers.
When visiting the national park, or any other big areas, it is important to be aware of what you need to expect in seeing there, not only the amazing things but also the geologic hazards (National Park Service, 2013). The National Park Service (NPS) disseminates information about potential hazards because they are they are the authoritative body when it comes to national parks. Visitors need to learn about safety and the escape routes if ever there will be an accident or an eruption, so that unfortunate incidents can be avoided. Authorities that manage the park need to extend a little more in studying everything about the dangers that the natural processes that the park contains. This may require extensive resource expenditure, but it is necessary because the uniqueness of the park serves as an impressive ground of conducting studies.
Nature is both beautiful and dangerous. You can admire its beauty but when you try to conquer it, it will fight back. That is why it is very important that we know our limits and we must not be taken over by greed. I think that is the best way in order to co-exist with nature.

References

Yellowstone Media (2013). Main. Retrieved March 4, 2015 from http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/
Gourley, B. (2015). The Geysers of Yellowstone. Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://yellowstone.net/geysers/
National Geographic (2015). Yellowstone National Park. Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/yellowstone-national-park/
Durando, J. (2015). Watch: Buffalo rams SUV at Yellowstone National Park. USA Today. Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/03/03/bison-yellowstone-national-park-/24354303/
National Park Service (2013). Geologic Hazards. Nps.gov. Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/hazards/index.cfm