Yellowstone National Parkis a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming.

It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.

Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 km2),comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges.

The 1988 fires affected 793,880 acres or 36 percent of the park. Five fires burned into the park that year from adjacent public lands. The largest, the North Fork Fire, started from a discarded cigarette. It burned more than 410,000 acres.

Large variety of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians resides in Yellowstone National Parkis.

A hiker walks out of the Norris Geyser Basin
A hiker walks out of the Norris Geyser Basin, one of the most earthquake active regions of the park, in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, June 21, 2011. Reuters
The nearly constantly erupting Clepsydra Geyser in the Fountain Paint Pot area in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
The nearly constantly erupting Clepsydra Geyser in the Fountain Paint Pot area in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, June 21, 2011. Reuters
The Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest in the United States and third largest in the world, is seen in Yellowstone National Park
The Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest in the United States and third largest in the world, is seen in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, June 22, 2011. Picture taken June 22, 2011. Reuters
People stand at the brink of the 93-meter tall Yellowstone River Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park
People stand at the brink of the 93-meter tall Yellowstone River Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, June 24, 2011. Picture taken June 24, 2011. Reuters
The Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest in the United States and third largest in the world, is seen in Yellowstone National Park,
The Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest in the United States and third largest in the world, is seen in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, June 22, 2011. Picture taken June 22, 2011. Reuters
The Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest in the United States and third largest in the world, is seen in Yellowstone National Park
The Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest in the United States and third largest in the world, is seen in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, June 22, 2011. Picture taken June 22, 2011. Reuters
A cinnamon black bear, a subspecies of the American black bear, runs between cars near Madison in Yellowstone National Park
A cinnamon black bear, a subspecies of the American black bear, runs between cars near Madison in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, June 19, 2011. Picture taken June 19, 2011. Reuters