On the 1st of March, 1872, Yellowstone became the first National Park in the United States of America – an area of wilderness protected by the state for the preservation of wildlife, and for the enjoyment of all. They could hardly have picked a better place – Yellowstone was and (thanks to its protected status) remains a breathtakingly beautiful, alien landscape of unique geological features and thermal springs. These thermal springs in particular, like any wild and untamed thing, can be deadly – something which the park has wrestled with for its entire existence.
