Depending
on which side rain and snow falls onto the aptly named
Two-Ocean Plateau, small streams gather the runoff and
guide it unerringly toward either the Snake or the Yellowstone
River. On the west slope of Gannett Peak—nearly
14,000 feet high—water is directed toward the
Green River. At Isa Lake—astride the Continental
Divide—water flows east and west out of opposite
ends of the same lake.
So
it is all along the backbone of North America in the
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. It lies at the top of
drainage basins that collect surface water from much
of the Intermountain West and carry it to distant oceans
on both sides of the continent. Thus, Yellowstone and
the larger ecosystem of which it is a park are linked,
through water, with such distant places as Astoria,
Oregon, at the mouth of the Columbia River; New Orleans,
Louisiana, at the mouth of the Mississippi River; and
San Felipe, Mexico, at the mouth of the Colorado River.
Yellowstone
is also ideologically linked with disparate places.
Like a river of ideas, the national park concept that
took shape in the Yellowstone country 125 years ago
has spread outward from its “headwaters,”
across the oceans, into a worldwide “watershed.”
The creation of Yellowstone National Park augured a
hopeful future. The National Park System now includes
more than 300 special places that have become valued
parts of American life...
Some
of naturalist John Muir’s most evocative words
were penned after he had climbed Electric Peak: “Climb
the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s
peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and
the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like
autumn leaves.”
—From
“An Uncommon Gift” by George B. Robinson
An
Uncommon Gift
George B. Robinson
32 pages with 30 color images. 9”x9”
ISBN 0-939365-61-8
$5.95 
- OTHER TITLES THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST
 Yellowstone: First
of The Last Wild Places by George B. Robinson
- Yellowstone: A Place of Many
Splendors by George B. Robinson and Lynn Wilson by George B. Robinson
- Yellowstone Postcard Book
 Yellowstone: The Fabric of A Dream
- Grand Teton: Grand Teton National Park by Jackie Gilmore
- Glacier/Waterton:
Smooth Stones, Ripple Marks and Water by George B. Robinson
|
