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| FRIDAY May 18, 2001 Vol 5, # 50 |
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| FRIDAY May 18, 2001 Vol 5, # 50 |
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| Site Search | Support Yellowstone! Discussion $7.95 Internet, Email, More Email Newsletter | |
YELLOWSTONE ROAD
REPORT PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN- |
SECRETARY OF INTERIOR TO
VISIT YELLOWSTONE by National Park Service
Several sessions will be open to credentialed media including a press conference from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on May 25 in Yellowstone National Park and another at 11:45 a.m. on May 26 in the Grand Teton area. Further details on these events, which will highlight the maintenance and open space needs at national parks, will be released as soon as confirmed.
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Russ Finley
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FOCUS: THE
GRAND CANYON OF THE YELLOWSTONE
The falls are erosional features formed by the Yellowstone River as it flows over progressively softer, less resistant rock. The Upper Falls is upstream of the Lower Falls and is 109 ft. high. It can be seen from the Brink of the Upper Falls Trail and from Uncle Tom's Trail. The Lower Falls is 308 ft. high and can be seen from Lookout Point, Red Rock Point, Artist Point, Brink of the Lower Falls Trail, and from various points on the South Rim Trail. The Lower Falls is often described as being more than twice the size of Niagara, although this only refers to its height and not the volume of water flowing over it. The volume of water flowing over the falls can vary from 63,500 gal/sec at peak runoff to 5,000 gal/sec in the fall. A third falls can be found in the canyon between the Upper and Lower falls. Crystal Falls is the outfall of Cascade Creek into the canyon. It can be seen from the South Rim Trail just east of the Uncle Tom's area. The Yellowstone River is the force that created the canyon and the falls. It begins on the slopes of Yount Peak, south of the park, and travels more than 600 miles to its terminus in North Dakota where it empties into the Missouri River. It is the longest undammed river in the continental United States. |
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| GLACIER NATIONAL PARK
ROAD REPAIR UPDATE News Brief GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Mont. -- A project to repair and upgrade the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road could cost up to $360 million in lost tourism revenue, according to one account. The repair and upgrade is needed because of severe damage to the road caused by decades of traffic and severe weather. |
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| PARKS PLAN TO PHOTO
SPEEDERS by National Park Service WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Park Service has announced plans to use cameras on the George Washington Parkway in northern Virginia to photograph speeding motorists and mail them tickets. Officials will watch the progress of the experiment closely, and are considering expanding the program into other national parks across the country. Yellowstone National Park, which has about 3 million visitors annually, some of whom do not obey posted speed limits, is a possible candidate for speed-monitoring cameras at some undetermined future point. |
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YELLOWSTONE
NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton will travel in
Wyoming on May 24 through 26, 2001, for visits to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National
Parks. She will review the repair and maintenance backlog at the parks and participate in
Department of the Interior and congressional briefings on issues such as the urban-fire
interface, open space planning, back country management and the Jackson Lake Dam. 
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL
PARK, Wyo. (NPS) -- The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is one of the primary
geological features in Yellowstone. It is roughly 20 miles long, measured from the Upper
Falls to the Tower Fall area. Depth is 800 to 1,200 ft.; width is 1,500 to 4,000 ft. The
canyon as we know it today is a very recent geologic feature. The present canyon is no
more than 10,000 to 14,000 years old, although there has probably been a canyon in this
location for a much longer period. The exact sequence of events in the formation of the
canyon is not well understood, as there has been little field work done in the area. The
few studies that are available are thought to be inaccurate. We do know that the canyon
was formed by erosion rather than by glaciation. The geologic story of the canyon, its
historical significance as a barrier to travel, its significance as
destination/attraction, and its appearance in Native American lore and in the accounts of
early explorers are all important interpretive points. The "ooh-ahh" factor is
also important: its beauty and grandeur, its significance as a feature to be preserved,
and the development of the national park idea.