Easy Yellowstone Park: Big Sky and Amazing Land Trivia Quiz | Geography

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Yellowstone National Park has over 2.2 million acres and touches three of the states in America. In which of the fifty states is the vast majority of the land found?

Answer: Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park is the oldest and one of the largest national parks in the United States. It is found primarily in northwest Wyoming but also touches southern Montana and eastern Idaho. It covers over 2.2 million acres which makes it bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The park holds the greatest concentration of hydrothermal features in the world.

2. A geyser is a hot spring that is under pressure and erupts, sending steam and water upwards. There are many geysers found in Yellowstone. There is one, however, that is commonly associated with the park and erupts about every 90 minutes. What is its name?

Answer: Old Faithful

Old Faithful is in Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin section. It was discovered in 1870 and named for its fairly predictable eruptions. Roughly every 90 minutes, it spews water and steam 100-180 feet in the air for a couple of minutes. Each eruption of the extremely hot water can encompass between 3,700 to 8,400 gallons.

3. Many people hike around the area called Artist Paint Pots on the western side of the park. What is bubbling in these various "pots"?

Answer: Mud

Hot water and hydrogen sulfide gas mix together and form sulfuric acid. This acid eats away the surrounding rock and clay. This forms, along with a limited water supply, a thick and bubbling mud. This hot and thermal area of the park also contains a sulfuric "rotten egg" smell. The bizarre landscape around the mud pots adds to the uniqueness of the area.

4. One of the most photographed thermal features in Yellowstone is the Grand Prismatic Spring. True or False: The multicolored layers around the edge get their shades from different species of heat-loving bacteria.

Answer: True

The Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest spring in the world and is deeper than a ten story building. The hot spring has bright colorful bands that ring the deep blue water. These bands are different bacteria that live in progressively cooler waters around the edge. The blue center is because water is scattering blue wavelengths of light and reflecting it back to us.

5. Whereas it was President U.S. Grant who made Yellowstone the nation's first national park, it was a later president who spent two weeks touring the acreage. Who was this man, who in 1903 spent two weeks in the Yellowstone acreage and helped spread the word of the park (including laying down the cornerstone of an arch)?

Answer: Teddy Roosevelt

President Theodore Roosevelt was the second U.S. President to visit Yellowstone Park, but he spent two full weeks there, along with naturalist John Burroughs. Roosevelt loved the park and spent hours by himself hiking and viewing wildlife. The small party with him camped and took notes and photos of the geysers and other natural wonders.

At the end of the trip, Roosevelt returned to the northern park entrance and laid the cornerstone for a large stone arch which would bear his name.

6. This breathtaking area is 4,000 feet wide and 1,200 feet deep in places. It is on the eastern part of the park and holds a raging river and multiple falls. It shares its name with another famous landmark in Arizona. What is it called?

Answer: Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

The canyon was discovered in 1869 and is a former geyser basin created by catastrophic flooding and erosion since the last glacial period. Mineral stains on the walls show the locations of springs and steam vents and turn colors such as pink, red, white, or yellow. Multiple trails and viewing points allow people to view Upper Falls at 109 feet tall or the towering Lower Falls at 308 feet tall.

7. Mammoth Hot Springs is an area toward the northern part of Yellowstone. It is comprised of travertine terraces that have formed over thousands of years. Of what material are they composed?

Answer: Limestone

Yellowstone is an extremely active geological location and site above a huge magma chamber. When rain water seeps into rocks and reaches a certain depth, it is heated by the boiling magma. At the Mammoth Springs area of the park, the water is not shot into the air but instead flows slowly from one basin to another while depositing limestone sediments.

These sediments form travertine terraces. The various springs will ebb, flow, dry up, and flow again over the course of the decades.

8. Yellowstone Lake, within the park, is about 20 miles long and 14 miles wide. It can freeze over during the winter and remains very cold all year. It holds an American record as well. What is it?

Answer: Largest high elevation lake in America

At 7,733 feet above sea level, Yellowstone Lake is the largest high elevation lake in the United States. It has over 140 miles of shoreline. The lake also has a huge population of wild cutthroat trout and scientists believe the lake once drained to the Pacific Ocean and the fish passed over into the area.

The water is rich in nutrients and minerals and serves as a getaway for visitors to fish, camp, and boat.

9. In 1988, a natural disaster destroyed over 30 percent of Yellowstone's acreage. Luckily, over the years the altered landscape began a healing process. What was this major event?

Answer: Forest fire

The summer of 1988 was the driest on record. That fact, along with high winds, lots of combustible material, and lightning storms, created a true firestorm. The fires destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres and teams of firefighters were brought in to help combat the damage.

The fires raged for weeks and weeks until snows in early September aided the fight. Over the years, although damage can still be seen, new trees have taken root, grasses and flowers have sprung up, and animals have returned.

10. Many visitors come to Yellowstone to view the amazing array of wild animals. These large bovines can be spotted in herds all over the park. At one time, their numbers were very precarious but Yellowstone has worked hard to increase awareness and grow the population. What are these beasts?

Answer: Bison

People sometimes use the word interchangeably, but buffalo and bison are different animals. Buffalo are native to Africa and Asia while bison are found in North America and Europe. The Yellowstone bison have brown coats, curved horns, and beards. They can be aggressive and can run up to 35 miles per hour.

While other herds in America have been eradicated and reintroduced, Yellowstone bison are never-domesticated and free ranging. They can be seen all over the park grazing on the grasses and shrubs.

Source: Author stephgm67

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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Yellowstone Park: Big Sky and Amazing Land Quiz

Come with me on my recent tour of Yellowstone Park! We will see amazing sites from one of the most interesting geographic areas of the world and learn a bit as we go.

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