Title: Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden and the Founding of the Yellowstone National Park
Author: Anonymous
Language: English
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[Illustration: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY]



                       Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden
                        and the Founding of the
                       Yellowstone National Park


                                  U.S.
                       DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
                           GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

    [Illustration: Shaded relief map of Yellowstone National Park.]

[Illustration: Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden and the Founding of the
Yellowstone National Park]

One of the prime movers among the many explorers of the west who played
key roles in establishing the Yellowstone National Park was Ferdinand
Vandiveer Hayden of the U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the
Territories, a predecessor of today’s U. S. Geological Survey. His
signal accomplishments, in 1871-72, were among the many highlights of a
long and distinguished career in public service.

Hayden’s professional training was as a doctor of medicine. It is a
tribute to his determination and energy that he reached this
professional status. Born in Westfield, Massachusetts, on September 7,
1829, he was, in his early youth, sent by his widowed mother to live
with an uncle on a farm in Rochester, New York. Following an unusually
studious childhood, he began teaching school when he was 16 years old.
He soon became discontented with what he considered an inadequate
education, and made his way to Oberlin, Ohio. There, he persuaded the
President of Oberlin College to allow him to enroll in medical school
although he was virtually penniless.

Young Hayden proved to be a diligent and dedicated student, and won the
respect of classmates and professors alike for his hard-working
attitude. None, however, foresaw the great success that he later
achieved.

While working his way through college, Hayden formed a close association
with a young geologist named John Strong Newberry, who persuaded Hayden
to pursue his studies under his own former teacher, James Hall of
Albany, New York. Soon after, Hayden enrolled at Albany Medical College,
and though he graduated with an M.D. in 1853, it is during this time
that his interest in geology was fostered under the influence of
Professor Hall.

Shortly after his graduation from medical school, Hayden set out on his
first geographical expedition under the sponsorship of Hall. Accompanied
by the paleontologist Fielding Bradford Meek, Hayden headed up the
Missouri River to explore the Dakota Badlands and to collect fossil
specimens. Returning in 1854, he and Meek began to acquire reputations
of their own and, as a team, they added significant geological
information to what was known about the Nation’s Western frontier.

During the War between the States, Hayden practiced medicine for the
only time in his career, serving with the Army as a surgeon. Following
the War he received his first formal degree in geology when he was
elected Professor of Geology and Mineralogy at the University of
Pennsylvania in 1865, a post he held mainly in absentia for 7 years. For
the next several years, much of his time was spent studying and
reporting on the geology of the Nebraska Territory and Rocky Mountain
Region.

In 1869 Hayden’s activities became officially organized under the
Department of the Interior, as the United States Geological and
Geographical Survey of the Territories. In that same year he completed a
highly successful expedition through the western mountains from Denver
to Santa Fe. This expedition set the pattern for those to follow, for
his team studied not only the geology, but virtually all natural
phenomena which they encountered, including wildlife, water resources,
and mineral deposits.

[Illustration: Dr. Hayden in Union Officer’s uniform during the Civil
War. This was the only time Hayden actually practiced medicine.]

Hayden’s historic expedition into the Yellowstone area in 1871, was
preceded by two expeditions which fired the imagination of those
interested in that largely unknown region. The Folsom-Cook group
penetrated the Yellowstone Country in 1869, followed by the
Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition in 1870. Lieutenant Gustavus C.
Doane, who served as the leader of the military escort for this latter
expedition as well as for the later Hayden Survey, filed a detailed
report which was published as a Congressional document and became a
landmark of the Yellowstone story. The following is taken from his
report:

[Illustration: Hayden, mounted here on his horse “Patsy”, maintained a
tenuous link with his professor’s chair at Pennsylvania by frequently
wearing a frayed dress coat.]

“We kept the Yellowstone to our left, and finding the canyon impassable,
passed over several high spurs coming down from the mountains, over
which the way was much obstructed by fallen timber, and reached, at an
elevation of 7,331 feet, an immense rolling plateau extending as far as
the eye could reach. This elevated slope of country is about 30 miles in
extent, with a general declivity to the northward. Its surface is an
undulated prairie dotted with groves of pine and aspen. Numerous lakes
are scattered throughout its whole extent, and great numbers of springs,
which flow down the slopes and are lost in the volume of the
Yellowstone. The river breaks through this plateau in a winding and
impassable canyon and trachyte lava over 2,000 feet in depth; the middle
canyon of the Yellowstone, rolling over volcanic boulders in some
places, and in others forming still pools of seemingly fathomless depth.
At one point it dashes here and there, lashed to a white foam, upon its
rocky bed; at another it subsides into a crystal mirror wherever a deep
basin occurs in the channel. Numerous small cascades are seen tumbling
from the lofty summits a mere ribbon of foam in the immeasurable
distance below. This huge abyss, through walls of flinty lava, has not
been worn away by the waters, for no trace of fluvial agency is left
upon the rocks; it is cleft in the strata brought about by volcanic
action plainly shown by that irregular structure which gives such a
ragged appearance to all such igneous formations. Standing on the brink
of the chasm the heavy roaring of the imprisoned river comes to the ear
in a sort of hollow, hungry growl, scarcely audible from the depths, and
strongly suggestive of demons in torment below. Lofty pines on the bank
of the stream ‘dwindle to shrubs in dizziness of distance.’ Everything
beneath has a weird and deceptive appearance. The water does not look
like water, but like oil. Numerous fishhawks are seen busily plying
their vocation, sailing high above the waters, and yet a thousand feet
below the spectator. In the clefts of the rocks, hundreds of feet down,
bald eagles have their eyries, from which we can see them swooping still
further into the depths to rob the ospreys of their hard-earned trout.
It is grand, gloomy, and terrible; a solitude peopled with fantastic
ideas; and empire of shadows and of turmoil.”

[Illustration: The artist Thomas Moran as he appeared on the 1871
Expedition. W. H. Jackson took this photo as evidence that his seemingly
frail friend was actually a durable outdoorsmen.]

Spurred on by these reports, Hayden organized his expedition with the
support of a $40,000 appropriation from Congress. On June 1, 1871, a
team of 34 men and seven wagons, set out from Ogden, Utah. Among the
group were geologist and managing director James Stevenson, mineralogist
A. C. Peale, topographer Antoine Schoenborn, artists Henry W. Elliott
and Thomas Moran, and photographer William H. Jackson. The latter two
proved to be invaluable members of the expedition for their work served
as dramatic and effective publicity in favor of establishing the park.
Moran’s famous landscapes were afterwards hung in the halls of Congress
and Jackson’s equally famous photographs portraying the primeval
grandeur of the Yellowstone were widely distributed.

[Illustration: William Henry Jackson, self-portrait. Jackson made this
exposure while exploring the Tetons in 1872.]

[Illustration: The Hayden Survey, led by Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane,
about to enter the Yellowstone area. The two-wheeled vehicle, in the
center foreground, is an odometer, a horse-drawn device used to measure
distances travelled in the wilds.]

After several weeks travel, the Hayden expedition reached Boetler’s
Ranch in the Yellowstone River Valley. There they were joined by the
Barlow-Heap military party of engineer-explorers who also planned a
reconnaissance of the Upper Yellowstone. This latter group
intermittently explored with the Hayden expedition during the next
several weeks. The results of the Barlow-Heap explorations were
published as a modest Senate Document which proved to be of material
help in establishing the Yellowstone National Park.

The joint Hayden/Barlow-Heap expeditions departed from Boetler’s on July
20, 1871. The journey through the wilderness was by no means an easy
one. The wagons had to be abandoned and the gear packed on mules.
Progress was slow, and the difficulty of moving through the dense forest
was compounded by the great number of trees felled by fires that
periodically swept the region.

The Yellowstone Basin however, proved to be an ideal open-air laboratory
for the geologist, and perhaps one of the best places on earth for
studying active volcanic processes because of the wide variety of
geologic features. Each of the scientists accompanying the expedition
found unique opportunities for observation and study.

Hayden recorded his thoughts as his party advanced up the River: “But
the objects of the deepest interest in this region are the falls and the
Grand Cañon (of the Yellowstone). I will attempt to convey some idea by
a description, but it is only through the eye that the mind can gather
anything like an adequate conception of them.... But no language can do
justice to the wonderful grandeur and beauty of the cañon below the
Lower Falls; the very nearly vertical walls, slightly sloping down to
the water’s edge on either side, so that from the summit of the river
appears like a thread of silver foaming over its rocky bottom; the
variegated colors of the sides, yellow, red, brown, white all intermixed
and shading into each other; the Gothic columns of every form standing
out from the sides of the walls with greater variety and more striking
colors than ever adorned a work of human art.”

[Illustration: The Grand Canyon, from the Lower Falls.]

Hayden continued to describe the falls: “Standing near the margin of the
Lower Falls, and looking down the Cañon ... with its sides 1,200 to
1,500 feet high, and decorated with the most brilliant colors that the
human eye ever saw, with the rocks weathered into an almost unlimited
variety of forms ... the whole presents a picture that would be
difficult to surpass in nature.”

“From any point of view, the Upper Falls are most picturesque and
striking. The entire volume of water seems to be, as it were, hurled off
the precipice with the force which it has accumulated in the rapids
above, so that the mass is detached into the most beautiful snow-white,
bead-like drops, and as it strikes the rocky basin below, it shoots
through the water with a sort of ricochet for the distance of 200 feet.”

[Illustration: The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone.]

[Illustration: The Upper Falls of the Yellowstone.]

[Illustration: Crater of the Grotto Geyser.]

Of the Yellowstone itself, Hayden said: “The river, by its width, its
beautiful curves, and easy flow, moves on down towards its wonderful
precipices with a majestic motion that would charm the eye of an
artist.”

However, not all was majestic beauty, for there was also the power and
mystery of the geysers, and the grotesque forms of the hot mud springs.
Hayden described these phenomena, such as one geyser he named the
Grotto: “A vast column of steam issues from a cavern in the side of the
hill, with an opening about 5 feet in diameter. The roaring of the
waters in the cavern, and the noise of the waters as they surge up to
the mouth of the opening, are like that of the billows lashing the
sea-shore. The water is as clear as crystal, and the steam is so hot
that it is only when the breeze wafts it aside for a moment one can
venture to take a look at the opening.”

“Located higher up on the side of the hill not far from the Grotto, is
the most remarkable mud-spring we have ever seen in the West. It may not
improbably be called the Giants Cauldron. It does not boil with an
impulse like most of the mud-springs, but with a constant roar which
shakes the ground for a considerable distance, and may be heard for half
a mile. All the indications around this most remarkable cauldron show it
has broken out at a recent period....”

Examining the mud-springs and geysers was hazardous business and could
be a painful experience, as Hayden discovered: “The entire surface is
perfectly bare of vegetation and hot, yielding in many places to slight
pressure. I attempted to walk among these simmering vents, and broke
through to my knees, covering myself with hot mud, to my great pain and
subsequent inconvenience.”

[Illustration: Boiling Mud Springs at Crater Hills near Sulphur
Springs.]

Finally, the expedition reached Yellowstone Lake, the focal point of
their exploration, causing Hayden to remark: “On the 28th of July we
arrived at the Lake, and pitched our camp on the northeast shore, in a
beautiful grassy meadow or opening among the dense pines. The lake lay
before us, a vast sheet of quiet water, of a most delicate ultramarine
hue, one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever beheld. The entire
party was filled with enthusiasm. The great object of our labors has
been reached, and we were amply paid for all our toils. Such a vision is
worth a lifetime, and only one of such marvelous beauty will ever greet
human eye. From whatever point of view one may behold it, it presents a
unique picture.”

[Illustration: The Head of Yellowstone Lake.]

Hayden’s party split into groups, with some continuing to explore the
perimeter of the lake, while Hayden, Schoenborn and other members of the
expedition went on toward the Firehole Geyser Basin. Eventually, the
entire party arrived back at Boetler’s Ranch, having spent 38 days in
the wilderness.

The most important product of the expedition, in addition to Jackson’s
photos, was a 500-page report by Hayden documenting findings of his
party. Hayden presented this report and photos to Senators, Congressmen,
his superiors in the Interior Department and nearly anyone else who
could possibly influence the founding of a park. He also wrote articles
in magazines with national circulation, and spent much personal time and
effort in trying to convince Congress to establish the park.

On December 18, 1871, a bill was introduced simultaneously in the
Senate, by Senator Pomeroy of Kansas, and in the House of
Representatives by Congressman Clagett of Montana, for the establishment
of a park at the headwaters of the Yellowstone River. The bill in each
case was referred to the respective Committees on Public Lands. Upon
reporting the bill back to the Senate on January 22, 1872, Senator
Pomeroy advised that body, “Professor Hayden and party have been there,
and this bill is drawn on the recommendation of that gentleman to
consecrate for public uses this country for a public park.”

[Illustration: Sketch of campsite]

The original bill, as presented to both Houses, read as follows:

  “Be it enacted & c., That the tract of land in the territories of
  Montana and Wyoming lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone
  river, and described as follows, to wit: commencing at the junction of
  Gardiner’s river with the Yellowstone river, and running east to the
  meridian passing ten miles to the eastward of the most eastern point
  of the Yellowstone lake, thence south along said meridian to the
  parallel of latitude passing ten miles south of the most southern
  point of Yellowstone lake; thence west along said parallel to the
  meridian passing fifteen miles west of the most western point of
  Madison lake; thence north along said meridian of the latitude of the
  junction of the Yellowstone and Gardiner’s rivers; thence east of the
  place of beginning, is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement,
  occupancy or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated
  and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit
  and enjoyment of the people; and all persons who shall locate, or
  settle upon or occupy the same, or any part thereof, except as
  hereinafter provided, shall be considered trespassers, and removed
  therefrom. Sec. 2 That said public park shall be under the exclusive
  control of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be as
  soon as practicable to make and publish such rules and regulations as
  he may deem necessary or proper for the care and management of the
  same. Such regulations shall provide for the preservation from injury
  or spoliation of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or
  wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural
  condition. The Secretary may in his discretion grant leases for
  building purposes, for terms not exceeding ten years, of small parcels
  of ground, at such places in said park as shall require the erection
  of buildings for the accommodation of visitors; all of the proceeds of
  said leases, and all other revenues that may be derived from any
  source connected with said park, to be expended under his direction in
  the management of the same, and the construction of roads and
  bridle-paths therein. He shall provide against the wanton destruction
  of the fish and game found within said park, and against their capture
  of destruction for the purposes of merchandise or profit. He shall
  also cause all persons trespassing upon the same after the passage of
  this act to be removed therefrom, and generally shall be authorized to
  take all such measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully carry
  out the objects and purposes of this act.”

On January 23, 1872, Senator Pomeroy, in response to questioning during
consideration of the bill, stated: “This bill originated as the result
of the exploration made by Professor Hayden under an appropriation of
Congress, last year. With a party he explored the headwaters of the
Yellowstone and found it to be a great natural curiosity, great geysers
as they are termed, waterspouts, and hot springs, and having plotted the
ground himself, and having given me the dimensions of it, the bill was
drawn up, as it was thought best to consecrate and set apart this great
place or national resort, as it may be in the future, for the purpose of
public enjoyment.”

[Illustration: Manuscript of Bill establishing the park.]

The Senate, sitting as Committee of the Whole, gave its final
consideration to the bill on January 30. There was limited floor
discussion, basically concerning whether or not the land was suitable
for agricultural development. The bill’s chief supporters convinced
their colleagues that the region’s real value was as a park area, to be
preserved in its natural state, and the bill passed by a comfortable
margin.

The House considered the same bill on February 27. Again, the question
was raised as to whether the region should be left open for agricultural
development. However, as in the Senate, the obvious value of the region
as a scenic preserve made the task of the park’s advocates an easy one.
The bill was readily passed with 115 yeas to 65 nays, and 60 not voting.

On March 1, 1872, President Grant signed the bill into law establishing
the Yellowstone region as a public park, thus setting a major
conservation precedent. The Nation had its first National Park; an area
of unique beauty was set aside for the enjoyment of generations to come,
and a tradition of preserving other such areas was established.



                  ABOUT THE FOLLOWING PHOTOGRAPHS....


The photographs in this section of the booklet were selected from those
taken by William Henry Jackson during Hayden’s second Yellowstone
Expedition in 1872, and reproduced from U. S. Corps of Engineers
negatives maintained by the National Archives. Jackson, considered one
of the foremost photographers of the early West, was the first man to
photograph and publish many of these scenes of the Yellowstone.
Jackson’s own captions describe the photographs on the following pages.

Photography in the field was an arduous affair one hundred years ago. On
the Yellowstone Expedition, Jackson had to pack by mule both his large,
cumbersome cameras and his darkroom—for exposed negatives had to be
developed immediately.

Hayden was well aware of the artistic and practical worth of Jackson’s
photographs. A series of Jackson photos served to illustrate his report
on the Yellowstone Country which sparked the interest of government
officials and the Public. The two men continued their association for
many years, covering many expeditions.

Perhaps the most fitting testimonial of Jackson’s contributions to the
1871 Yellowstone Expedition was offered by a former Director of the
National Park Service, who said:

  “It was a singular stroke of fortune that the Hayden Expedition took
  with it to the Yellowstone land of miracles, the miracle of
  photography. The camera, in the hands of William H. Jackson, recorded
  for the first time the phenomena of the Yellowstone in a form that the
  most skeptical human eye could not dispute. These photographs helped
  as much as anything to convince Congress that the Yellowstone region
  should be set aside as a National Park.”

[Illustration: Title page for “Photographs of the Yellowstone National
Park, etc.” by W. H. Jackson.]



                              PHOTOGRAPHS
                                 OF THE
                       YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
                                  AND
               Views in Montana and Wyoming Territories.


                      DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
          United States Geological Survey of the Territories.
             F V Hayden, United States Geologist-in-charge


                      W. H. JACKSON, PHOTOGRAPHER.


                              Washington:
                       Government Printing Office
                                 1873.

[Illustration: William H. Jackson and an assistant photographing in high
places—Tetons.]

[Illustration: Camp of U. S. Geological Survey, Ogden, Utah. The camp is
located on one of the remarkable lake-terraces which form an interesting
feature of the scenery on the Salt Lake Basin. The Wasatch Mountains, in
the background, are about five thousand feet above the camp, and nine
thousand five hundred and thirty feet above sea level.]

[Illustration: Meeting of the U. S. Geological Survey in the Lower
Firehole Basin. The two divisions of the Survey met at this locality on
the same day, July 17, 1872, starting from this point several hundred
miles distant from each other. The locality is near the source of the
Madison River, and is within the limits of the National Park, Latitude
44° 34′6″: Longitude 110° 55′15″.]

[Illustration: Mt. Hayden, or the Great Teton. This picture represents
one of the monarch peaks of the Rocky Mountains. It is visible on a
clear day for a radius of one hundred and fifty miles in every
direction, thus forming one of the most conspicuous landmarks in the
West. It is probable that the only white men that ever reached its
summit are Mr. James Stevenson and Hon. N. P. Langford. The elevation is
thirteen thousand four hundred feet. It is seen by the traveler on the
overland stage-road to Montana, from the Snake River Basin, far to the
eastward, rearing its “Bald awful head” far above the limit of perpetual
snow.]

[Illustration: Panoramic View of the Teton Range. This photo presents a
panoramic view of the north portion of the Teton Range. The peaks in the
distance are composed of massive granites, while the rocks in the
foreground are limestones. For beauty as well as grandeur, no
description can convey any adequate idea of it.]

[Illustration: Camp at the Mouth of Teton Canyon. This camp is in the
Teton Canyon, and West of the Teton Range, just ten miles by
Triangulation to the summit of the Grand Teton. The trees are all pines
and firs. As the sun rises in the morning immediately back of the peaks,
it invests them with remarkable beauty. The scenery along the Teton
River is rugged and most attractive. It furnished some of the finest
views taken on the Survey.]

[Illustration: Crater of the Architectural Geysers, Lower Basins. This
picture represents one of the handsomest fountain springs in the Lower
Basin. The entire mass of the water is at times most violently agitated,
and is thrown up by a succession of impulses forty to sixty feet. The
water overflows the borders, producing the wonderful ornamentation which
is so clearly shown in the photograph. The peculiar coral-form masses of
pearly silica are well brought out. The crater is about twenty-five feet
in diameter, and the water when quiet has a temperature of about 180°.]

[Illustration: Upper Firehole Basin from the Crater of Old Faithful. Old
Faithful derived its name from the regularity of its action, which
occurs once in sixty-five minutes. When it is in operation it throws a
column of water, by a succession of impulses six feet in diameter, to
the height of one-hundred and sixty feet. The paroxysm continues about
twelve minutes when the water sinks down in the crater, and all is
quiet. The silicious deposits around the crater are marvels of beauty.
The Madison River can be seen in the distance and also the geysers in
operation.]

[Illustration: Hot Springs and Castle Geyser. The spring in the
foreground is in all respects the most beautiful one in the National
Park. The ornamental rim is nearly circular, being about twenty-two
feet. The depth is unknown. When the rays of the sun fall nearly
vertically on the almost unnaturally transparent waters, all the colors
of the prism are produced. The temperature is about 180°. Just in the
background is the Castle Geyser, which is so called from the form of its
crater. It is really an old ruin. It seldom plays, but when in operation
it is a terrific power, shaking the ground for a considerable distance.
It continues with great force for one to two hours.]

[Illustration: Mammoth Hot Springs on Gardiner’s River. The peculiar
character of the deposits is well shown in this picture. The larger hot
springs are located on the terrace above, and, as the heated water flows
over the declivity, the beautiful pool-like basins are formed from four
to eight feet wide and two to four feet deep. As the water leaves the
spring and flows over the sides of the mountain, it loses a portion of
its heat, so that the bather may choose any temperature he may desire.
These pools are sometimes called Diana’s Baths. The deposit is as white
as snow.]

[Illustration: Mammoth Hot Springs, Lower Basin. The four succeeding
pictures represent the calcareous group. There are two kinds of hot
springs in the park, called siliceous and calcareous from the character
of their deposits. A large amount of lime is held in solution in the hot
water which is precipitated in wonderfully unique architectural forms on
the steep sides of the mountains, as shown in the photograph. These
springs are located in the valley of the Yellowstone, near the northern
boundary of the park, and are named White Mountain Hot Springs on the
map. At the present time they are most accessible by the way of Fort
Ellis, Montana, and the Yellowstone Valley.]

[Illustration: Cap of Liberty Mammoth Hot Springs. This is a fine
example of an extinct geyser or fountain spring. It doubtless operates
much like one of our artificial fountains, throwing up a column of water
several feet, by a succession of impulses, building up a cone by
overlapping layers of lime, like the thatch on the roof. The cone is
forty-two feet high and about twenty-five feet in diameter at its base.
When the hydrostatic force begins to abate, the cone is gradually closed
up at the summit, as is shown in the photograph. These dead springs or
geysers are a common feature in the park, and are called, in the
language of Iceland a “laug.” It is only a calcareous spring that can
form so curious and lofty a cone as this.]

[Illustration: Lower Falls of the Yellowstone. A more distant view of
the falls. The photograph however, conveys but a dim conception of the
ruggedness of the surroundings.]

[Illustration: Lower Falls of the Yellowstone. About a fourth of a mile
below the upper falls, the waters of the Yellowstone take a much more
fearful leap, making a clear descent of three hundred and fifty feet.
There is probably not a more beautiful sight in existence than the falls
with the Grand Canyon below. The rocks are mostly volcanic.]

[Illustration: Sketch of horseman and pack animal.]

[Illustration: Tower Falls. These beautiful falls are located on a
little branch of the Yellowstone, which flows in from the west side,
near the lower end of the Grand Canyon. The descent of the water is
about one hundred and fifty feet. The rocks are composed of a peculiar
conglomerate, which has been weathered into most fantastic, pointed
columns resembling the towers of a gothic cathedral. Hence the name.]

[Illustration: Panoramic View of the Valley of the Yellowstone. This
group of three pictures from a panoramic view of what is regarded by
visitors to that region as the most beautiful and symmetrical range of
mountains in America. The summits of the peaks are covered with snow
more or less the year round, and can be seen for eighty to one hundred
miles in every direction.]

[Illustration: The Grand Canyon, One Mile Below the Falls. This picture
is intended to convey to the eye some idea of the depth and remarkable
ruggedness of the Canyon. To one standing on the margin of the Canyon,
the Yellowstone River fades to a slender thread as it flows along the
bottom of the chasm.]

   [Illustration: Index map showing points referred to in the text.]


As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the
Interior has basic responsibilities for water, fish, wildlife, mineral,
land, park, and recreational resources. Indian and Territorial affairs
are other major concerns of America’s “Department of Natural Resources.”

The Department works to assure the wisest choice in managing all our
resources so each will make its full contribution to a better United
States—now and in the future.

[Illustration: U. S. Department of the Interior · March 3, 1889]



                          Transcriber’s Notes


--Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
  is public-domain in the country of publication.

--Silently corrected a few palpable typographical errors.

--In the text versions only, added descriptive captions to all
  unlabelled illustrations and graphics; the HTML edition contains only
  the original captions.





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