Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

On March 1, 1872, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, making Yellowstone the world’s first federally protected park. Located in Wyoming and parts of Montana and Idaho, it features more than 10,000 hot springs, geysers and mudpots that are home to rare heat-loving microscopic organisms. The most well-known geyser, Old Faithful, named for its predictability, expels up to 8,400 gallons of 204-degree water in a single eruption. Millions flock to the park every year from around the world.

—Prepared by the World Tribune staff