黄石公园

张宁

Yellowstone Park is the first national park of the United States. Native Americans had lived and hunted in the region that would become Yellowstone for hundreds of years before the first Anglo1 explorers arrived.

John Colter， was the first Anglo to travel through the area. In 1807， he explored part of the Yellowstone plateau2 and returned with fantastic stories of steaming geysers and bubbling cauldrons3. Some doubters accused him of telling tall tales4 and jokingly dubbed the area “Colters Hell.”

The key to Yellowstones future as a national park， though， was the 1871 exploration under the direction of the government geologist Ferdinand Hayden. Hayden brought along photographer William Jackson and landscape5 artist Thomas Moran to make a visual record of the expedition. Their images provided the first visual proof6 of Yellowstones wonders and caught the attention of the U.S. Congress.

President Grant signed the Yellowstone Act on March 1， 1872. It designated the region as a public “pleasuring-ground，” which would be preserved “from injury or spoliation7， of all timber8， mineral9 deposits10， natural curiosities， or wonders within.”

The Yellowstone Act of 1872 set a precedent11 and popularized the idea of preserving sections of the public domain12 for use as national parks. The idea spread to other nations around the world.

黃石公园是美国的第一个国家公园。早在第一批盎格鲁探险家到来之前，美洲原住民就已经在这个后来变成黄石公园的地区生活和狩猎了数百年。

约翰·科尔特，是第一个穿越该地区的盎格鲁人。1807年，他探索了黄石高原的一部分，回来后向人们讲述蒸汽间歇泉和沸腾的凹地的奇妙故事。一些怀疑论者指责他是吹牛，并戏称该地区为“科尔特的地狱”。

然而，黄石公园成为未来的国家公园的关键是1871年在政府地质学家费迪南·海登的指导下进行的勘探。海登带上了摄影师威廉·杰克逊和风景艺术家托马斯·莫兰，对这次探险进行了直观记录。他们的图像提供了黄石奇观的第一个视觉证据，并引起了美国国会的注意。

1872年的3月1日，格兰特总统签署了《黄石法案》。该法案将该地区指定为一个公共的“乐土”，保护该地区的木材、矿藏、自然珍品或奇观不受任何损害或劫掠。

1872年的《黄石法案》开创了一个先河，并普及了保留部分公共土地作为国家公园的理念。这个理念传到了世界的其他国家。

1. Anglo [ ] n. 非拉丁裔美国白人 2. plateau [ ] n. 高原

3. cauldron [ ] n. 大汽锅，大锅 4. tall tale 吹牛，说大话；夸张的故事，荒诞的故事

5. landscape [ ] n. 风景；地形 6. proof [ ] n. 证明；证据

7. spoliation [ ] n. 强夺；毁弃

8. timber [ ] n. 木材；木料 9. mineral [ ] adj. 矿物的；矿质的

10. deposit [ ] n. 沉积物；矿床 11. precedent [ ] n. 先例；前例

12. domain [ ] n. 领域；地产