Historically, the Norris area was the site of a U.S. Army outpost. The Norris Soldier Station is a link to Yellowstone's past. From 1886 to 1916, the U.S. Army administered Yellowstone National Park, and the Soldier Station is a relic of that era. Today it houses the Museum of the National Park Ranger. Exhibits tell the story of the evolution of the ranger profession from its roots in the military to the modern specialist.
Thermal features are fragile rarities of nature.
Yellowstone preserves the largest natural geothermal area on the planet, with an unparalleled opportunity to view hot springs, geysers, mud pots and steam vents in a natural setting. Change takes place naturally in a geyser basin but people can disrupt these processes, causing irreparable damage. Rocks, sticks and other objects thrown into a geyser's or hot spring's vent may be permanently cemented in place, choking off water circulation and ending all activity. At Norris, Ebony Geyser in Porcelain Basin and Minute Geyser in Back Basin have been victims of this thoughtless destruction. In 1829, trapper Joe Meek stumbled upon the Norris area.