Gap of Golden Gate, Yellowstone National Park.

Publication

Gap of Golden Gate, Yellowstone National Park.

Description

GAP OF THE GOLDEN GATE IN WINTER, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYO. Yellowstone National Park is a natural "wonderland," noted for its geysers, hot springs, beautiful waterfalls, and the grandeur of its mountain scenery. It was set aside as a national park in 1872 so that its wonders might be enjoyed by all. A superintendent who is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior is in charge of the park and he has a body of soldiers who enforce his orders. The first man to make any record of visiting the park was John Colter in 1810. Colter was on his way home by himself from the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition, and took refuge in what is now the park to escape from the Indians. A few years later a trapper visited the region and described the geysers and hot springs. At first the stories of the wonderful region were not believed, but at last, our government sent men who carefully explored and charted the region. Still later, in 1872 Henry D. Washburn led an exploring expedition into this Yellowstone district and finally established the facts about it. Two years later the United States government set aside the area as a park and game preserve. You are looking at a small section of the great Yellowstone Park called the "Gap of the Golden Gate," a narrow valley between high steep hills. Imagine the wonderful coloring of this spot in winter--the many reds and yellows of the cliffs, the green of the pines and the snow-capped mountain top! The masonry on the left hand side of the canyon has been built to carry the roadway around the point. Engineers have done marvelous feats in the construction of such mountain roads. A wide use of concrete has simplified enormously this sort of construction work.