By the mid 19th century, the rumors had been going around for a while in the Eastern

US.

There had been trappers and some scouts who had been in there and they had been telling

stories but no one believed them because they were always telling stories, you know,

that seemed hard to believe in Outlandish.

The purpose of a place in the northwest, in Wyoming territory, that was truly fantastical

in description.

This place supposedly had exploding geysers shooting water a hundred feet into the air.

It had boiling springs.

It had bubbling mudpox.

It was both beautiful and dangerous.

But who could save any of these rumors were true?

The Yellowstone was one of the few unmapped places in the United States in 1870 and 71.

This is Megan Cape Nelson, author of Saving Yellowstone.

Lots of surveys had been out there, Lewis and Clark had kind of moved north of Yellowstone

on their return trip in their big survey but no federal officials had been there or even

civil officials on the ground.

The specifics 101, I'm Hannah McCarthy.

I'm the Capri-Jay.

And today we are telling the story of how a now unbelievably vast system found its rocky

start.

This is how America got its first national park.

...