One of the first people generally credited with conceptualizing a "national park" was George Catlin (1796-1872), a self-taught artist who traveled extensively among the native peoples of North America, while sketching and painting portraits, landscapes, and scenes from daily Indian life. On a trip to the Dakotas in 1832, he worried about the impact of America's westward expansion on Indian civilization, wildlife, and wilderness. They might be preserved, he wrote, "by some great protecting policy of government . . . in a magnificent park . . . . A nation's park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!"
The idea had gained some acceptance years later, when in 1864 Congress donated Yosemite Valley to California for preservation as a state park.
The establishment of Yellowstone National Park by act of Congress on March 1, 1872, for the first time signified that public lands were to be set aside and administered by the federal government "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." This enscription is carved into the rock of the Teddy Roosevelt Arch, the official entranceway at the north gate to Yellowstone from Gardiner, Montana. Please select a product of interest:
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A Miracle in Hotel Building
A Miracle in Hotel Building Canyon Hotel Yellowstone The Dramatic Story of the Building of the New Canyon... |
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Amazing Grays V
Amazing Grays V is a signed and numbered 20" x 35" limited edition print on paper by Nancy Glazier ~... |
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Bear with Cubs
A Yellowstone sow grizzly piggy-backs her two cubs. This beautiful photo has been permanently transferred to a slate medium by... |
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Bison in Winter
A solitary Yellowstone Bison leaves a trail through the snow in its search for food. This fine quality print comes... |
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Bison Near Hot Spring
Yellowstone has many hot pools and thermal springs that display vibrant colors. Most of the colors are due to... |
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Bull Elk
The Rocky Mountain Elk is descended from the European Red Deer and was given the name "Wapiti" by the Shawnee... |
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Bull Elk Tete-A-Tete
Two Yellowstone bull elk push and shove in knee-deep powder snow amid the sun-cured grass heads of late autumn. The... |
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Bull Moose
Moose are not as common as elk or bison in Yellowstone, but they can frequently be seen near streams and... |
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Cabin and Grand Teton Mt. Range
An old cabin with the Teton Range in the background. This beautiful photo has been permanently transferred to a... |
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Canary Springs
This is an absolutely beautiful 8"x12" impressionist original stretched oil painting on canvas of the Canary Springs located at the... |
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Chorus Howling - Wolves
Chorus Howling captures an outstanding image of wolves in a typical posture - heads back and intently howling. The photo... |
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