Yellowstone National Park

Established on March 1, 1872, Yellowstone National Park is the first and oldest national park in the world.
Preserved within Yellowstone are Old Faithful Geyser and some 10,000 hot springs and geysers, the majority of the planet's total. These geothermal wonders are evidence of one of the world's largest active volcanoes; its last eruption created a crater or caldera that spans almost half of the park.

An outstanding mountain wildland with clean water and air, Yellowstone is home of the grizzly bear and wolf, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk. It is the core of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, one of the largest intact temperate zone ecosystems remaining on the planet.

The human history of the park dates back 12,000 years. The events of the last 130 years of park history are reflected in the historic structures and sites associated with various periods of park administration and visitor facilities development.

Established in 1929, Grand Teton National Park emerged from a complicated and controversial series of events. The park first consisted of the mountain range and several glacial lakes. Later the valley floor was protected as Jackson Hole National Monument. The two areas were combined in 1950.
Today the park encompasses nearly 310,000 acres and protects the Teton Range, Jackson Hole (mountain valley), a 50-mile portion of the Snake River, seven morainal lakes, over 100 backcountry and alpine lakes, and a wide range of wildlife and plant species.
The park is also rich in a cultural history that includes seven eras of human history: early peoples (paleo-indians), Native Americans (modern tribes), fur trappers, homesteaders, ranchers/farmers, conservationists, and recreationalists. Climbing, hiking and backpacking, camping, fishing, wildlife and bird watching, horseback riding, boating on Jackson and Jenny Lakes, rafting on the Snake River, bicycling, and photography are all common activities in the area.
About 4 million visitors enjoy the park each year, most visit between Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day.

The Caribou-Targhee National Forest occupies over 3 million acres and stretches across southeastern Idaho, from the Montana, Utah, and Wyoming borders. Most the Caribou-Targhee National Forest lies in eastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and northern Utah, with a significant portion situated adjacent to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks,

The Caribou-Targhee National Forest lies almost entirely within "the Greater Yellowstone Area" or "the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem," an area of over 12 million acres and is the largest block of relatively undisturbed plant and animal habitat in the contiguous United States. The area continues to gain prominence for its ecological integrity. The United Nations has identified the area as a Biosphere Reserve.