Here, for the first time in paperback, is a fascinating daily record of Ferdinand Hayden?s historic 1871 scientific expedition through Utah, Idaho, and Montana Territories to the Yellowstone Basin. The expedition?s findings quickly led Congress to establish Yellowstone as the world?s first national park. In addition to its scientific discoveries, the expedition is famous for producing the earliest on-site images of Yellowstone, by its photographer, William Henry Jackson, and its guest artist, Thomas Moran. ø Marlene Deahl Merrill has woven together a compelling daily narrative from the field writings of three expedition members: unpublished journals kept by mineralogist Albert Peale and geologist George Allen, periodic reports by Peale to his hometown newspaper, and letters from Hayden to his friend and mentor Spencer Baird at the Smithsonian Institution. Enriching this narrative are Jackson?s photographs of camp scenes and landscapes; rare panoramic drawings by the party?s topographical artist, Henry Elliott; maps; an introduction; and extensive annotations.
An extended visual essay presenting orignal images from William Henry Jackson's 1871 Hayden Survey paired with breathtaking color rephotographs of each view from photojournalist Bradly J. Boner.
In the nineteenth century people could gain fame and fortune by “discovering” and documenting things that were already known to exist like the source of the Nile and the North Pole. For decades trappers and prospectors had told about the wonders of the area that became Yellowstone Park, but no credible person had written about the falls, canyons, and geysers there. An ambitious politician, Nathaniel P. Langford, decided to make his name by promoting an expedition and publicizing its activities in 1870. An army lieutenant named Gustavus Doane maneuvered to lead the expedition’s army escort for the same reason. Their written accounts of the big “discovery” of Wonderland were the basis for the park’s founding in 1872. Rediscovering Wonderland brings together the words of these men, along with images of the expedition, to provide historical context for the exploration and founding of America’s first national park.
For readers of Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things, and Hope Jahren’s Lab Girl, Diane Smith’s warmhearted and award-winning epistolary novel about a spunky young woman who joins a makeshift field study in Yellowstone National Park at the end of the nineteenth century “I loved this book in a way that I haven’t loved a book in some time.” —James Welch, author of Fools Crow In the spring of 1898, A. E. (Alexandria) Bartram—a spirited young woman with a love for botany—is invited to join a field study in Yellowstone National Park. The study’s leader, a mild-mannered professor from Montana, assumes she is a man, and is less than pleased to discover the truth. Once the scientists overcome the shock of having a woman on their team, they forge ahead on a summer of adventure, forming an enlightening web of relationships as they move from Mammoth Hot Springs to a camp high in the backcountry. But as they make their way collecting amid Yellowstone’s beauty, the group is splintered by differing views on science, nature, and economics. Brimming with humor, excitement, and the romance of the Yellowstone landscape, Letters from Yellowstone is a love letter to the joys of scientific discovery and America’s majestic natural beauty, as well as a thoughtful reflection on environmentalism, Native American displacement, and feminism at the dawn of a new century.
The second edition of the award-winning Atlas of Yellowstone contains 50% new material, making it the authoritative reference for the world’s first national park on its 150th anniversary. The publication of the Atlas of Yellowstone, Second Edition coincides with the 150th anniversary of the founding of Yellowstone National Park—a major international event. The atlas is an accessible, comprehensive guide that presents Yellowstone’s story through compelling visualizations rendered by award-winning cartographers at the University of Oregon. Readers of this new edition of the Atlas of Yellowstone will explore the contributions of Yellowstone to preserving and understanding natural and cultural landscapes, to informing worldwide conservation practices, and to inspiring national parks around the world, while also learning about the many struggles the park faces in carrying out its mission. Ranging from Indigenous Americans and local economies to geysers and wildlife migrations, from the life of one wolf to the threat of wildfires, each page provides leading experts’ insights into the complexity and significance of Yellowstone. Key elements of the atlas include: More than 1,000 maps, graphics, and photographs Contributions from more than 130 experts Detailed topographic maps of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks Exploration of Yellowstone National Park’s influence over 150 years on conservation practice, park management, and American culture New, detailed visualizations of wildlife that take advantage of modern GPS technology to track individual animals and entire herds Place-name origins for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the surrounding region
Award-winning nature writer Jack Turner directs his attention to one of America's greatest natural treasures: the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Comprised of two national parks, three national wildlife refuges, parts of six national forests, and eleven wilderness areas, Greater Yellowstone is a vast array of differing environments and geographies. In a series of essays, Turner explores this wonderland, venturing on twelve separate trips in all seasons using various modes of travel: hiking, climbing, skiing, canoeing lakes, floating rivers, and driving his way across the landscape. He treks down the Teton Range, picks up the Oregon Trail in the Red Desert, and floats the South Fork of the Snake River. Along the way he encounters a variety of wildlife: moose, elk, trout, and wolves. From the treacherous mountains in the dead of winter, to lush river valleys in the height of fishing season, his words and steps trace one of the most American of experiences---exploring the West. Turner, who has lived in Grand Teton for three decades, designates Greater Yellowstone as ground zero for the country's conflict between preservation and development. At a time when the battle to preserve a wild and natural environment is relentless, his accounts of the areas conflicts with alien species, logging, real estate, oil, and gas development are alarming. A mixture of adventure, nostalgia, and Americana, Turner's rare experiences and evocative writing transform the sights and sounds of Greater Yellowstone into an intimate narrative of travel through America's most beloved lands. Praise for Teewinot: "Bursting with a sense of place...a rewarding reading experience replete with ravishing observations of nature." - Publishers Weekly "...a measured luxuriance in the landscape, a love song to the natural history of a place...Turner's writing is muscular, never swaggering, and almost lyrical, summoning a Teton Range in its rightful, sublime austerity." - Kirkus Reviews "Teewinot is a rare book. The wonderful accounts of mountaineering serve as armature not only for Turner's meditative reverence for the Grand Tetons and his often evocative prose but also for an uncommon density of knowledge of place..." - Peter Matthiessen, author of Tigers in the Snow "This is, simply stated, a wonderful and utterly engaging book." - Jim Harrison, author of Dalva and The Road Home "Each place must find its muse. The Tetons have found theirs and his name is Jack Turner." - Terry Tempest Williams, author of Coyote's Canyon
The summer of 1871, a team of thirty-two men set out on the first scientific expedition across Yellowstone. Through uncharted territory, some of the day’s most renowned scientists and artists explored, sampled, sketched, and photographed the region’s breathtaking wonders—from its white-capped mountain vistas and thundering falls to its burping mud pots and cauldrons of molten magma. At the end of their adventure, the survey packed up their specimens and boarded trains headed east, determined to convince Congress that the country needed to preserve the land from commercial development. They returned with “stories of wonder hardly short of fairy tales,” to quote the New York Times. With the support of conservationists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Law Olmsted, and John Muir, the importance of a national park was secured. On March 1, 1872, Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone Park Bill into law. It set aside over two million acres of one-of-a-kind wilderness as “a great national park for the benefit and enjoyment of people.” This important and fascinating book will introduce young adults to the astonishing adventure that led to “the best idea America ever had.” Today over 130 countries have copied the Yellowstone model, and billions of acres of critical habitat and spectacular scenery are being preserved for all of us to enjoy. This book has a wonderful ecological and historical message for readers ages 12 and up. No book about Yellowstone's founding has been written for this age group before, yet Yellowstone National Park is a major destination for many families, so many readers will likely have heard of Yellowstone or even have visited there. This is a great book for any school library or for history or science classrooms in middle and high school, where information can be used for research projects.
