Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

Yellowstone National Park

Only a very small percentage of Yellowstone National Park’s total visitors see the park when it looks like this. In winter, when the park is quiet, its hydrothermal features really stand out, like the rainbow-hued Grand Prismatic Spring near the centre of this image, the most photographed feature in Yellowstone.

Yellowstone was established as the first national park in the United States in 1872. Perhaps no park better captures the American landscape than Yellowstone – 9,000 square kilometres of lakes, canyons, rivers, mountains, waterfalls and hot springs. It is also home to more than 60 species of mammals, including bison, wolves, elk and grizzly bears. But it’s Yellowstone’s hydrothermal sites that really impress. Old Faithful might be the most famous, but it’s only one of 10,000 around here. Although the park is still chilly in April, you’ll have the place mostly to yourself. Only about 44,000 visit Yellowstone in April, compared to the nearly one million who gather each July.