Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Lamar River and Its Valley
The glacier-carved Lamar Valley entered the historical record as far back as 1836 in
Journal
of a Trapper
by Osborne Russell. He praised the “Secluded Valley” for its “wild romantic
scenery.” Evening light brings forth a particularly beautiful luster.
The Lamar is a long river that originates on the eastern boundary of the park. First
called the East Fork of the Yellowstone, in 1885 it was officially named for President Grover
Cleveland's secretary of the interior, who bore the melodious classical name Lucius Quin-
tus Cincinnatus Lamar. As interior secretary, Lamar was a good friend to Yellowstone. He
later became an associate justice of the Supreme Court.
Death Gulch
Up Cache Creek, above where it enters the Lamar River, is an interesting hot springs area.
Located about 5 miles from the road and across the creek from the trail, the area has been
called Death Gulch since 1888, when geologist Walter Weed discovered that numerous an-
imals had died there from inhaling poisonous gases. About 15 years later the hot springs in
Death Gulch were named Wahb Springs after a fictional grizzly bear that met his end there
in
Biography of a Grizzly,
by self-taught naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton.
Creeks with Mineral Names
A veritable mineral collection of names graces the creeks flowing into the Lamar
from the Mirror Plateau and Specimen Ridge to the southwest: Flint, Opal, Chalcedony,
Amethyst, Jasper, and Crystal Creeks. Two others flow into the Yellowstone River from
high on the opposite side of Specimen Ridge: Agate and Quartz Creeks. All these silica-
rich minerals have been found in Yellowstone Park, though not necessarily near these
creeks.
15.8/12.8
North of the road you may notice a rectangular, fenced-off area of lush plant
growth. Biologists call this an
exclosure,
a place where they keep out the larger browsing an-
imals (moose, bison, elk, and deer), in order to compare the protected area with its surround-
ings. Botanists study the composition and growth rates of the vegetation in several such ex-
closures in the park.
16.3/12.3
Interpretive sign about Lamar Valley animals. Near the river you'll see three
prominent types of trees that thrive in the relatively low altitude here: black and narrowleaf
cottonwoods and quaking aspen. See more about these trees on
page 347
.
