Taman Negara Yellowstone

Taman Negara Yellowstone adalah taman negara pertama di dunia. Ia diwartakan pada 1 Mac 1872 apabila Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Ulysses S. Grant menandatangani satu undang-undang pewartaannya. Ia merupakan sebuah Tapak Warisan Dunia UNESCO.

Geografi 
Kebanyakan taman ini (96%) terletak di Wyoming. Kawasan taman negara ini adalah seluas 8,980 km persegi (3,468 batu persegi) dan lebih besar daripada Rhode Island atau Delaware. 

Taman ini terletak di Dataran Tinggi Yellowstone, pada ketinggian purata 2,400 m (8,000 kaki) di atas permukaan laut. Hampir semua sisi dataran tinggi ini bersempadan dengan  banjaran pergunungan Tengah Rocky Mountains, yang tingginya 2,700 hingga 3,400 meter (9,000 hingga 11,000 kaki).

Tiga ngarai (lereng gunung) terdalam berada di taman ini dan yang paling terkenal adalah Grand Canyon Yellowstone.

Continental Divide 
The Continental Divide of North America runs diagonally through the southwestern part of the Park. This separates the Pacific from Atlantic water drainage areas. The origins of the Yellowstone and Snake Rivers are near each other but on opposite sides of the divide. As a result, the waters of the Snake River flow to the Pacific Ocean, while those of the Yellowstone find their way to the Atlantic Ocean via the Gulf of Mexico.

Geology 
Yellowstone is the site of a huge ancient volcano, whose remains are called the Yellowstone Caldera. The caldera is the largest volcanic system in North America.

The cause of the volcano was a hotspot in the Earth's mantle, over which the American continental plate moved. 640,000 years ago a huge volcanic explosion blew 240 cubic miles (1000 km2) of rock and lava into the air. It was 1000 times larger than the Mount St. Helens eruption. 

Yellowstone is still geologically active, and is monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey. There is ground movement, geysers and swarms of small earthquakes. The floor of the caldera has been rising, but experts say there is no immediate danger of eruption.

Fauna 

Yellowstone is widely considered to be the finest megafauna wildlife habitat in the lower 48 states. There are almost 60 species of mammals in the park, including the gray wolf, the threatened lynx, and grizzly bears. Other large mammals include the bison (buffalo), black bear, elk, moose, mule deer, white-tailed deer, mountain goat, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and mountain lion.

Bison 
Bison once numbered between 30 and 60 million throughout North America; Yellowstone is one of their last strongholds. Their populations had increased from less than 50 in the park in 1902 to 4,000 by 2003. 

The park's bison population reached a peak in 2005 with 4,900 animals. Despite a summer estimated population of 4,700 in 2007, the number dropped to 3,000 in 2008 after a harsh winter and controversial brucellosis management sending hundreds to slaughter. APHIS has stated that with vaccinations and other means, brucellosis can be eliminated from the bison and elk herds throughout Yellowstone.

Wolves 
Starting in 1914, the U.S. Congress gave funds for the purposes of "destroying wolves, prairie dogs, and other animals injurious to agriculture and animal husbandry" on public lands. After the wolves were gone from Yellowstone, the coyote became the park's top canine predator. However, the coyote cannot bring down large animals. The result was a great increase in lame and sick megafauna.

By the 1990s, the Federal government had reversed its views on wolves. In a controversial decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wolves, imported from Canada, were reintroduced into the park. A survey conducted in 2005 showed there were 13 wolf packs, totaling 118 individuals in Yellowstone and 326 in the whole ecosystem. 

The recovery of populations throughout the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho has been so successful that they are no longer on the endangered species list.

Beruang 
Kira-kira 600 ekor beruang grizzly hidup di Ekosistem Yellowstone Raya, dengan lebih daripada separuh berada di dalam Yellowstone.

Elk 
Jumlah populasi elk lebih daripada 30,000. Ia merupakan populasi spesies mamalia terbesar Yellowstone. Jumlah kawanan di utara menurun dengan mendadak sejak pertengahan tahun 1990-an. Ini mungkin di sebabkan oleh serigala. Selain itu, elk lebih banyak menggunakan kawasan berhutan bagi mengelakkan serigala, dan menjadikan keadaan lebih sukar bagi para penyelidik untuk mengira jumlahnya. Pada musim sejuk, kawanan utara berpindah ke barat ke arah barat daya Montana. Kawanan selatan pula menuju ke arah selatan. Perpindahan kawanan selatan merupakan migrasi mamalia terbesar yang masih wujud di luar Alaska, Amerika Syarikat.

Other predators 
In 2003, the tracks of one female lynx and her cub were spotted and followed for over . Fecal material and other evidence obtained were tested and confirmed to be those of a lynx. No visual confirmation was made, however. Lynx have not been seen in Yellowstone since 1998, though DNA taken from hair samples showed that lynx were at least passing through the park. Other less commonly seen mammals include the mountain lion and wolverine. The mountain lion has about 25 individuals parkwide. The wolverine is another rare park mammal, and accurate population figures for this species are not known.

Yellowstone is also home to six species of reptiles, such as the painted turtle and Prairie rattlesnake, and four species of amphibians, including the Boreal Chorus Frog.

Ikan 
Lapan belas spesies ikan hidup di Yellowstone, termasuk trout cutthroat Yellowstone—sejenis ikan yang paling dikehendaki oleh pemancing. Trout cutthroat Yellowstone menghadapi beberapa ancaman sejak tahun 1980-an, termasuk kemasukkan secara haram tasik trout ke dalam Tasik Yellowstone, sejenis spesies rempuhan yang memakan trout cutthroat yang lebih kecil. Trout cutthroat juga menghadapi kemarau, selain kemasukkan tidak sengaja sejenis parasit—penyakit pusaran—yang mana membunuh anak-anak ikan. Sejak tahun 2001, kesemua spesies ikan sukan asli yang ditangkap di salur air Yellowstone tertakluk kepada undang-undang tangkap dan lepas.

Burung 
311 spesies burung telah dilaporkan, hampir separuh darinya membiak di Yellowstone. Setakat tahun 1999, 26 pasang Helang Botak dilaporkan membuat sarang.

Rujukan

Pautan luar 
 Yellowstone National Park Official site
 An extensive Yellowstone photographic gallery on the official NPS.gov site Images should be free under public licence for Wiki-pedia use.
 USGS: Volcanic History of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field
 Tracking Changes in Yellowstone's Restless Volcanic System, U.S. Geological Survey, Fact Sheet 100-03, 2004
 Life at high temperatures - An introduction to Yellowstone's thermophilic bacteria.
 Scientific American Magazine (June 2004 Issue) Lessons from the Wolf

Fauna di Amerika Utara
Wyoming
Montana
Idaho
Gunung berapi
Taman negara di Amerika Syarikat
Tapak Warisan Dunia