Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
|Context||An 1871 U.S. Geological expedition to survey the sources of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers|
|Audience||U.S. Geological Survey, Congress, and (later) the general public|
|Purpose||To depict Yellowstone's geologic features and landscapes|
As part of a U.S. Geological Survey expedition, artist Thomas Moran spent forty days documenting the grandeur, beauty, and unique geologic features and landscapes at thirty different sites within the Yellowstone region. When supporters of making Yellowstone a national park presented his watercolors to Congress, the watercolors helped persuade many members of Congress of the value in preserving this landscape for future generations. Seven months after the Hayden Survey ended, Congress established Yellowstone National Park. By 1916, Congress established the National Park System.