Hayden Valley located in protected area Yellowstone National Park
Hayden Valley is a large, sub-alpine valley in Yellowstone National Park straddling the Yellowstone River between Yellowstone Falls and Yellowstone Lake.  The valley floor along the river is an ancient lake bed from a time when Yellowstone Lake was much larger.  The valley is well known as one of the best locations to view wildlife in Yellowstone.History
The valley was the natural route to Yellowstone Lake as trappers, explorers and natives made their way up the Yellowstone River.  On August 29, 1870, when Henry D. Washburn and Gustavus Cheyney Doane ascended Mount Washburn during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition, they saw the great expanse of the Hayden Valley between Yellowstone Falls and the lake.
In Doane's journal he described the valley as seen from Mount Washburn thus:Location
The Hayden valley, centrally located in Yellowstone National Park, is approximately 7 miles (11 km) long north to south and 7 miles (11 km) wide east to west and occupies about 50 square miles (130 km2) of the park.  It lies mostly to the west of the Yellowstone River between Canyon and Yellowstone Lake, in Wyoming.  The Canyon to Lake section of the Grand Loop Road follows the eastern side of the valley near the river.
situated in conservation area found in preserved zone positioned in restricted site placed in secured territory situated in sheltered region