Did you know that one of the oldest lakes in the country is right here in Wyoming? The stunning and impressive Yellowstone Lake is a true piece of history. Learn all about this natural wonder below.
Yellowstone Lake got its name during the American westward expansion, but it has been an important part of history and culture for thousands of years prior to Europeans finding this natural wonder.
Wikimedia Commons It is the deepest high elevation lake in the country, and one of the most geologically important bodies of water in the world.
640,000 years ago, a magma chamber under Northwestern Wyomgin collapsed, forming the caldera that forms the basin of Yellowstone Lake.
Wikimedia Commons There’s evidence of the massive magma chamber underneath the Yellowstone Caldera to this day, and some have called it a “supervolcano”.
Today, the lake is much smaller than it was when it was first formed. Back then, the water filled the Hayden Valley!
K. Magaraci It also sits at a lower elevation, and is now on a tilted part of the Earth’s crust. The shift in shape and size of the lake has led to beaches on the northern end of the lake.
When Americans began to settle in the Yellowstone Area, the lake was a central part of their plan. A hotel was built, and travelers took ferries and boats to avoid the bumpy and dangerous roads around the park.
Wikimedia Commons Yellowstone Lake became a popular fishing and angling spot, too. Even though the lake was stocked with Atlantic salmon, Mountain whitefish and Rainbow trout during the early 1900s, the only species that have survived are the native cutthroat trout and non-native Lake trout. You can enjoy angling during the summer, but all cutthroat trout must be released.
Many people visit the West Thumb of the lake to see the geothermal activity that has become a hallmark of this region.
K. Magaraci Geysers, hot pots, thermal springs, and other steamy features fill the region near the West Thumb’s coast, and you can walk around this geyser basin thanks to the boardwalks installed by the park.
Yellowstone Lake is hundreds of thousands of years old, making it one of the oldest lakes in the country. Visit today to see just what surprises this caldera basin has in store.
K. Magaraci Yellowstone is truly otherworldly, and a trip to the historic lake will show you just what wonders our Earth is hiding.
Address: Yellowstone Lake, WY, 82190
Wikimedia Commons
It is the deepest high elevation lake in the country, and one of the most geologically important bodies of water in the world.
There’s evidence of the massive magma chamber underneath the Yellowstone Caldera to this day, and some have called it a “supervolcano”.
K. Magaraci
It also sits at a lower elevation, and is now on a tilted part of the Earth’s crust. The shift in shape and size of the lake has led to beaches on the northern end of the lake.
Yellowstone Lake became a popular fishing and angling spot, too. Even though the lake was stocked with Atlantic salmon, Mountain whitefish and Rainbow trout during the early 1900s, the only species that have survived are the native cutthroat trout and non-native Lake trout. You can enjoy angling during the summer, but all cutthroat trout must be released.
Geysers, hot pots, thermal springs, and other steamy features fill the region near the West Thumb’s coast, and you can walk around this geyser basin thanks to the boardwalks installed by the park.
Yellowstone is truly otherworldly, and a trip to the historic lake will show you just what wonders our Earth is hiding.
To learn more about the boating history on Yellowstone, read The Story Of The Most Hated Man In Wyoming And His Rotting, Abandoned Ship.
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