Nature’s resiliency is on full display here at Yellowstone National Park, where new growth has emerged among the trees charred by the massive 1988 wildfires. More than 1 million acres in the greater Yellowstone area were affected by the blazes that summer, scarring 36 percent of the park. Today marks the 30-year anniversary of Black Saturday, a day when the park saw some of the worst damage, with smoke and ash blackening the skies. But when cool, moist weather brought an end to the devastating fires in late autumn, the ecosystem immediately began to recover. Fire has long been part of the complex ecosystem at Yellowstone and many species have even adapted to rely on fire to open up the canopy, spread seeds, and diversify the habitat.
Looking back at Yellowstone, 30 years after the fires
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
50 years of World Heritage Sites
-
Stompin’ with the Big Chief
-
International Haiku Poetry Day
-
It s ∞ Day!
-
The citadel in Bonifacio, Southern Corsica, France
-
In the belly of Fat Bear Week
-
Glenariff Forest Park, Northern Ireland, UK
-
World Art Day
-
Saksun, Faroe Islands, Denmark
-
Wahclella Falls, Oregon
-
New York City skyline
-
World Meteorological Day
-
National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, DC
-
Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
-
That s quite a schnoz, baby tapir
-
Party like it’s 5779
-
Porto Cathedral, Portugal
-
Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
-
Ready. Set. Snow.
-
Astronomy Day
-
St. Paul Winter Carnival
-
Happy New Year! (Again!)
-
It’s not a pinecone, it’s a pangolin
-
National Audubon Society s Christmas Bird Count
-
Kiteboarding and windsurfing in Croatia
-
International Day for Biological Diversity
-
Presidents Day
-
World Turtle Day
-
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
-
From the mind of Frank Gehry