Yellowstone National Park Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Show Summary - July 6, 2009

Monologue.

Sharon welcomed the listeners and talked about the importance of water in life and life in water. She said that it is imperative for everyone to realize the importance of water, to drink plenty of water and to carry water with them if they are unsure of a water source. Dehydration, or lack of water, is out of control in our world and causes or contributes to ailments from allergies to obesity.

Guest: Al Nash

Al Nash (West Yellowstone, MT), Yellowstone National Park, WY. "Yellowstone: The World's First National Park"

Yellowstone is the world's first national park and, some say, the best idea America ever had. Currently, nearly every country in the world has natural and historic areas preserved in national parks.

Yellowstone National Park, according to Information Officer Al Nash, is mainly a tribute to the power of nature. Many geological events that happen only rarely elsewhere are everyday occurrences at Yellowstone. Plus it is easily accessible and one of the world's great scenic and wildlife conservation areas.

The park covers 2.2 million acres in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. It encompasses one of a very few "supervolcanoes" in the world, where the Earth's crust is very thin and molten magma is close to the surface. Large explosions have occurred several times in the past few million years and undoubtedly will again. The park is well equipped to monitor earthquakes and crust deformation leading to eruptions. There are thousands of quakes annually (most of them too mild to notice), and almost constant geyser eruptions, along with steaming pools and rivers, and boiling mud. The 1959Madison River Earthquake, just west of Yellowstone, registered 7.5 on the Richter Scale and did massive damage.

If you visit Yellowstone, and then revisit a few years later, you will be struck by the changes in the land.

Mr. Nash recommends the Old Faithful Inn for lovers of the rustic, and the Lake Hotel for those who prefer the more traditional.

The park has an excellent Junior Ranger program.

Categories: Outdoor recreation; U.S. national parks, monuments, etc.; 2009