"Yellowstone seems to the geologists like a smoky gun which reminds us how violent the earth can be. One event over shadows all other: A whole landscape exploded in the middle of the present park about 600,000 years ago. ... In a few minutes the land was devastated ... a smoky caldera were the only thing in the middle, a caved in crater with a area of 45 x 75 kilometers. ... countless boiling springs, fumaroles and geysers are a sign for possible future eruptions. ... the importance of Yellowstone for a wild animal reservation has grown since the settlement of the west was finished. The list of animals is like an encyclopedia of the fauna of the Rocky Mountains: elk, bison, muldeer, moose, pronghorn, coyote, cougar, beaver, swan, eagle, boldeagle, white pelican and many more." (2)

Unfortunately most of the white Americans do not realize that in their nationalpark number one Native Americans had lived long before the New World was discovered. Prehistoric findings like arrowpoints and old campsites let suppose that the area was settled about 11,000 years ago.
Native Americans also lived here during conquest of the west. Many tribes crossed the ground in hope of hunting success.
One tribe of Shoshone made this land their native country. They prefered a nomadic life and roved through the Yellowstone region on foot before horses were known.They hunted bighorn sheep and fished in the Snake-, Madison- and Yellowstone River. They lived here till 1871 in small groups.
Finally they shared the most Natives' lot: displace by force to Shoshone Wind River Reservation.

	Old Faithfull in action
	Sunrise over Lower Falls
	Panorama of the Yellowstone River

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