"The eruptions as witnessed by moonlight are truly sublime."
Sights
— Happy Easter —
"There is no gayer sight than a mass of these yellow lilies, as one comes upon them in the woods under some spreading tree."
Moran’s Legacy 3: The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone — Text by F.V. Hayden
Mr. Thomas Moran, a celebrated artist, and noted for his skill as a colorist, exclaimed with a kind of regretful enthusiasm that these beautiful tints were beyond the reach of human art.
Moran’s Legacy 2: Mammoth Hot Springs — Text by Edwin J. Stanley, 1883
"The first impression on beholding it is that of a snowy mountain beautifully terraced, with projections extending out in various directions, resembling frozen cascades, as though the high, foam-crested waves, in their rapid descent over the steep and rugged declivity, were suddenly arrested and congealed on the spot in all their native beauty. "
Moran’s Legacy 1: Paintings of the Yellowstone Wonderland
"I did not wish to realize the scene literally, but to preserve and to convey its true impression."
A Tale: A Lady’s Visit To The Geysers Of The Yellowstone Park (Part 4) — HWS 1880.
"We traveled over a road made of obsidian, which is a sort of volcanic glass, of a reddish black color, and glistened beautifully in the sun."
A Scene: The Geysers of Yellowstone — Washburn, 1870
There had been rumors of wonders in the upper Yellowstone for more than 50 years, but the Washburn Expedition of 1870 made it official. The place really did contain towering waterfalls, a huge inland sea and—most stupendous—boilding fountains that threw water hundreds of feet into the air. There were several reasons Washburn and his companions captured … Continue reading A Scene: The Geysers of Yellowstone — Washburn, 1870
A Tale: Rafting Across the Yellowstone to View the Canyon From Artist Point — Holmes, 1896.
"We are unable to tell what most impresses us: the immensity of the great gulf, the infinite glory of its colored walls, the struggling river far below, the stately army of tall pines massed on the brink ...."
A Scene: The Great Falls of the Yellowstone — Washburn, 1870
The water, just before it breaks into spray, has a beautiful green tint, as has also the water in the canyon below. .... The mingling of green water and white spray with the rainbow tints is beautiful beyond description.
A Sight: Rudyard Kipling Watches Beaver Swimming Silently — 1889
"There is only one thing more startling than the noiselessness of a tiger in the jungle, and that is the noiselessness of a beaver in the water."