Yellowstone National Park From Surveys made under the direction of F.V. Hayden

One of the earliest obtainable maps to show the area that would become Yellowstone National Park.

The geological survey led by Ferdinand Hayden in 1871 was one of a number of federally sponsored government surveys undertaken after the Civil War in an effort to chart the American west. Hayden, along with 37 others including the artist Thomas Moran, spent nearly 4 months exploring a large area in northwestern Wyoming. The combined effort of these courageous men resulted in the production and distribution of numerous maps, photographs, and paintings that did much to convince Congress the area was worth protecting for future generations.

This map is one such example, showing the proposed area of Yellowstone National Park shortly after Hayden’s survey concluded in 1871. Mountains reflect the name of early surveyors – Washburn, Stevenson, Langford and Doane. Jim Bridger, one of the first Americans ever to lay eyes on Yellowstone, is also memorialized with a lake. The map also shows numerous hot springs, drastic topographical variation, geyser basins, canyons and falls.

The combined impact of maps, reports, paintings, photographs, and Hayden’s relentless lobbying efforts was enough to convince Congress the land was worth preserving. In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the bill that established Yellowstone National Park as the first of its kind in the world.