The wonders of Yellowstone will be the focus of the Clear Lake State Park's program on Saturday, October 24, 2009. Photo courtesy of the National Parks Foundation.

CLEAR LAKE STATE PARK – Enjoy the overwhelming beauty and splendor of Yellowstone National Park during the 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 24, visitor center program. It is a film to share with family and friends.

Yellowstone National Park, covering more than 2.2 million acres, is the world’s first National Park (1872) and the largest in the United States.

Little has changed geologically since this designation. However, an earthquake in 1959, with a Richter magnitude of between 7.3 and 7.5, changed some of the features in the park. A huge quake-caused landslide that blocked the Madison River created Quake Lake. There were many landslides, great infrastructure damage and sadly 28 fatalities.

The beauty of Yellowstone cannot be exaggerated. It is the world’s most extensive area of geyser activity with more than 10,000 thermal features, with Old Faithful being its signature feature.

Feast your eyes on 300-plus steaming geysers, boiling mud pots, meadows, trout streams, and 290 waterfalls that cascade through magnificently carved canyons. There are 950 miles of hiking trails. See hot water produced algae in colors ranging from orange and green to golden brown.

The Lake County bird count of over 300 species exceeds Yellowstone’s 200-plus count. They count 60-plus species of mammals, and some of those species also live in Lake County.

After viewing the film, browse our museum to look for similarities. The Visitor Center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Saturday through October. The museum is one of Lake County’s great treasures of natural history.

At this time, there is no entrance fee to Clear Lake State Park for participating in walks, programs or visiting the museum.

Visit www.clearlakestatepark.org for program schedule, great photos and park information.

Clear Lake State Park is located at 5300 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville.