Notes on Yellowstone Documentary

   Yellowstone National Park is one of the greatest wonders of the world being one of the largest ecosystems known. It’s over 2 million acres of land have a range of habitats created by rivers, mountains, valleys, geysers, waterfalls, forests, wetlands, and more. These habitats house a large range of animals such as elk, bison, grizzly bears and wolves.  Many wonders are still being discovered today. For example, researchers are still in the process of mapping out waterfalls throughout the park. They look at the topography of regions and search the areas out either by foot or by plane.  Over 300 waterfalls have been found recently.

One of Yellowstone’s most famous wonders is Old Faithful. This huge geyser is evidence of a large volcano holding over 3 times the amount of magma as Lake Michigan holds water beneath the grounds of Yellowstone that is creating hotspots throughout the park. This volcano is causing the ground to lift, something that researchers have been observing for years. This volcano underground is also having effects on animal populations throughout the park. When five bison were found dead in one area, scientists found the cause to be high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide in the geothermal gases from the volcano.

Below are some notes on the video. Yellowstone is so large that it is hard to capture its essence through one video. However, through this video it is clear to see that these discovered and undiscovered aspects of the area are what make Yellowstone such an amazing park.

  Yellowstone is within the largest ecosystem of its type in the world

· Over 4000 bison

· Contains 17 rivers, plains, grasslands, wetlands, the largest high altitude lake, canyons, the worlds largest volcano and more

· Over 2 million acres of land

o Bigger than DE and RI combined

· Old Faithful

o There is a volcano below Yellowstone

o Earthquake tremors

o Below Yellowstone is 3 Lake Michigan’s worth of magma

o Hot spots – heat source hasn’t moved by continent has moved

· A lot of rain and snow – creates diverse habitat for wildlife

· Many rivers and streams

· Waterfalls found by looking at topography

o High relief means water is falling

o Topographical drops

o Found over 300 unknown waterfalls

o One is 308 ft tall

o Can find on foot or by air with the help of maps

· Glaciers carved valleys of Yellowstone

· 2/3 of geysers in the world are in YNP

· Lightning/Fires

o Soil quality is poor because of volcano below

o Plants are less variable and flammable

§ Don’t burn far

o Fires-> specific temperatures and timing let out seeds of trees and plants

§ Resin inside the pine cone burns in 25 seconds and drops seeds

o Small fires help to limit the big outbreaks

§ Must let fires burn

§ Except if people are involved

§ Must find a balance between people and what’s natural

o Moisture on ground affects how far the fire will spread

§ Moisture 12% or higher – ground wont burn

§ Scientists take samples from surrounding down trees to determine moisture content

o Putting out fires

§ Planes bring in water from the air

§ Big effort to keep fires within the park

§ Rain helps put out fires

§ Fire brings sapling growth

· Animals

o Fires regenerate growth -> more for animals to eat

o Elk die young in volcanic area

§ Plants have silica that wear down their teeth

o Bison are the most dangerous animals in the park because of their aggression

o Grizzly bear – 2 hikers came across one

§ Has alert sene of hearing, smelling, and their sight is good

§ 35 mi/hr – fastest grizzly speed

§ Huffing signals that they are on high alert

§ will guard their food and ward off all other animals

§ Pepper spray got the bear to back off

§ Grizzlies caught on tape sharing food

o Wolves

§ Wiped out in the ‘40s

§ Reintroduced in 1995

§ Elk- prey

§ 1 particular pack prefer bison – kill more bison than any other pack

§ one instance they killed one bicen in 12 min

· rare

· bison had poor bone marrow

· was weaker and easier to kill

§ bison have greater chances of survival if they stand their ground than if they run

§ Wolves are caught and tagged in winter because it’s harder to run in the snow

· Tracking of wolves reveals how they shape Yellowstone

o 5 bison found dead in one area led to thorough study of the grounds

§ high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide in their air were toxic

§ geothermal gases due to volcano

· Volcano is causing ground to lift

· Geology is what made Yellowstone the first national park