Yellowstone News and Information

Ferdinand Hayden And The Founding Of Yellowstone National Park By  Yellowstone Volcano Observatory   October 30, 2023 Geologist Ferdinand Hayden directed the first scientific exploration of Yellowstone in 1871, leading directly to the founding of the world’s first national park in the following year. Hayden’s noteworthy achievements in science and conservation, however, are clouded by his views of indigenous people.     Yellowstone  Caldera  Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Cole Messa, Ph.D. student, and Ken Sims, Professor of Geology and Geophysics, both at the University of Wyoming. Yellowstone—the " land of the burning ground "—has been known to indigenous people for at least 11,000 years. In fact, in 1805 the  governor of Louisiana Territory described a map drawn on a bison hide by an indigenous American showing a “volcano” on the Yell...