Isa Lake， in the pass between Yellowstone Lake in the east and the Upper Geyser Basin in the west， lies precisely on the continental divide. Water flows out of the lake both toward the Pacific as well as the Atlantic， although surprisingly (because of the orientation of the lake and the divide here) it is the water at the west end which heads toward the Gulf and at the east towards the Pacific.
There are other interesting views along the route of the Yellowstone River in addition to those shown above and in the Yellowstone Canyon page. The canyon and cliffs below are on the Yellowstone River， a few miles below the Grand Canyon section. These pinnaclespinnacle n.小尖塔， 山顶， 顶点 vt.造小尖塔， 把……放在极高处 are basalt columns which are formed as lava cools and contracts.
Tower Falls， where Tower Creek joins the Yellowstone River southeast of TowerRoosevelt， is another impressive cascade on the Yellowstone. The water drops 132 feet in this location.
The Madison River flows west through the Madison Valley and out the western border of the park. Attractive to birds and wildlife， it is a well known fishing river with whitefish， rainbow， and brown trout. This view of the river and the Madison Valley looks northwest toward the Gallatin National Forest west of the park itself.
The Olympic National Park奥林匹克国家公园
奥林匹克国家公园坐落于华盛顿州的西北角，奥林波斯山(2428米高)雄踞其中，公园因此而得名。公园内景色多变，生态系统多种多样，岩石垒垒的海边生长着许多海洋生物，美洲鹿徜徉其间的山谷中长着巨大的针叶树森林，崎岖的山巅覆盖着约60处活动冰川。
奥林匹克国家公园是美国以雨林为特色的公园，奥林匹克国家公园位于华盛顿州西北部奥林匹克半岛的中央地区，外加63里长的太平洋狭长的沿海地带，由三处生态系统截然不同山地组成，因此公园经常被称作“三处合而为一的公园”。方圆1400平方里的奥林匹克国家公园不仅包括冰雪封顶的奥林波斯山、山区草地、岩石林立的海岸线，而且世界上少数几个温带雨林之一也在这里。温和、潮湿的空气遇到山坡产生了大量降雨，年降水量超过12英尺，繁茂的温带雨林在这里欣欣生长；凉爽、湿润的气候使这儿呈现出一派繁盛葱绿的雨林风光。崎岖的山顶上覆盖着冰川，区内有60公里的海岸线，生长着壮观的雨林。多种多样的生态系统仍保持着古朴的特色，该区95%仍保存着其原始的野生面貌，是奥林匹克公园给人类的一份礼物。
坐落在公园西南部3条河谷里的雨林，引人入胜，是公园的特色。这里土地肥沃、雨量充沛(平均年降雨量达142英尺)，适于树木孳生。冷杉、云杉、铁杉、雪松和地衣以及菌藻杂长在一起，构成一幅典型的雨林植物图谱。厚厚的青苔地面，平地拔起巨大的羊齿植物，有藤蔓缠绕的枫树，给林区增添了神秘气氛。密集的树林夹带着苔藓编织成的厚帷，把日光滤成黄绿的颜色，显得阴森可畏。但在这幽深静谧之中，上下左右又无处不是一片苍翠，使人仿佛潜身绿海之中，置身于琉璃世界。公园的东部，有冰川覆盖的山峰，点缀着斑斓野花的草原，湍急的溪涧和晶莹如玉的湖泊。这时有的地方冰雪戴途，有的地方苍苔没径。公园内几百英里的羊肠山道，为骑马和徒步者提供了寻幽访胜的机会。
Olympic National Park is one of the national park system，s most diverse national parks， encompassing snowcappedsnowcapped adj.顶部被雪所盖着的 peaks， temperate rain forest， and windswept ocean coastal areas. The park is located on the Olympic Peninsula in the extreme northwest corner of Washington state， surrounded by the Strait of Juan De Fuca on the north， the Pacific Ocean on the west， and the Puget Sound. Although it，s only a short distance to Seattle across the Sound， the park seems very remote as the population of Washington，s Olympic peninsula is not great.
The park itself is quite large， containing 922，000 acres. These lands include 60 glaciers， 13 rivers， 57 miles of coastline， over 600 miles of trails， the greatest remaining ture wilderness forest in America， and the largest herd of Roosevelt elk in the United States. The park includes three separate and diverse ecosystemsecosystem n.生态系统 - subalpine forest and wildflower - rich meadowsmeadow n.草地， 牧场， temperate rain forests， and the Pacific coastline. Pictures and descriptions of all of these ecosystems are contained in this Park Vision site.
Park History
The Olympic peninsula has a long history of human habitation and use， dating back some 12 thousand years to a time when human beings fed on animals such as mastodonsmastodon n.［古生］乳齿象， 庞然大物. Some nine Indian tribes made use of the area for fishing， hunting， and gathering food. The area provided ample resources such as sea food， berries， roots， elk， and deer for food， and the bark of cedar trees for robes， mats， and baskets.
European explorers first became aware of the area in 1774 on a voyage by Spanish navigator Juan Perez. In 1788 sea captain John Meares sighted the park， and named its highest mountain， Mt. Olympus. Although the Spanish established a settlement near Neah Bay in 1791， the rugged topography and dense vegetation made the park area itself somewhat impenetrableimpenetrable adj.难以渗透的 and the mountains were not crossed until the James Christie expedition in 1889. Mt. Olympus itself was first climbed in 1907.
The first suggestion for setting aside the area as a park was made by Lt. Joseph P. O，Neill， who explored the area from 1885~1890. O，Neill could see no other use for the rugged country. In 1897 Grover Cleveland designated the area as the Olympic Forest Preserve. In 1909， much of the future Olympic National Park area was declared a national monument by the most conservationminded of all the U.S.，s presidents， Teddy Roosevelt. Finally， Olympic was designated as a national park on June 29， 1938， and the coastal area of the park was added in 1953. However， heavy logging of the forest surrounding the park on the Olympic peninsula still takes place.
Olympic Mountains
The most famous features of Olympic National Park are the spectacular Olympic Mountains which form a circular range in the central area of the park. These precipitous， snowcapped mountains were formed by the uplifting forces of the techtonic action of the collisions of plates of the earth，s crust， rather than volcanic activity which is characteristic of the northwest，s Cascade Mountains.
The snow and ice on the mountain tops contrasts sharply with the dark green color of the heavily forested lower slopes. Some of the most popular views of these mountains are at the Hurricane Ridge area. The mountains to the west of of this viewpoint form the Bailey Range which contains some of the highest peaks in the park， including Mt. Olympus. Above and below are pictures of the center of the park looking west from the ridge area.
The Olympic mountains themselves are not all that high， compared with mountains in parks such as Glacier and Rocky Mountain， ranging generally in the 7000~8000 foot area. However， the mountains rise from virtually sea level， making the mountains appear much higher than they might otherwise seem. In fact， the Olympic Mountains are visible from as far away as 100 miles in the Puget Sound area.
Grand Canyon National Park大峡谷国家公园