In this photo provided by the Office of National Parks, water levels in the Gardner River are rising along the northern entrance road to Yellowstone National Park on June 13, 2022 in Gardiner, Montana.
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The floods destroyed parts of Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding area, and a series of satellite images of similar areas before and after the floods show the extent of the damage.
The images embedded below show the enormous power of what the National Park Service called the “unprecedented flood”.
The flood was caused by heavy rains and rapid melting of the snow.
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The map shows rainfall in June for northwestern Wyoming.
AP
Although it is difficult to blame the floods in Yellowstone National Park directly on climate change, a 2018 study shows that “climate change exposes the national park area more than the United States as a whole”, as parks are usually located in particularly high altitudes or dry places.
Yellowstone National Park is huge, covering 3,472 square miles, mostly in Wyoming, and just a short distance from Montana and Idaho.
The worst flooding has occurred in the northern part of the park and so this part of the park “is likely to remain closed for a significant period of time,” the National Park Service said in an update to its published flood bulletin.
The three pairs of satellite images before and after, embedded below, give an idea of the scale of the damage from the water that caused the buildings to be washed right into the Yellowstone River.
BEFORE: Road at the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, seen here on March 30, 2022.
Satellite image shows a pre-flood road view at the entrance to the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Montana, USA, March 30, 2022. Photo taken March 30, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Through Reuters
AFTER: This satellite image of the northern entrance to Yellowstone was taken on June 15, after the flood, and shows parts of the road washed away.
Satellite image shows an overview of numerous road washes at the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Montana, USA, June 15, 2022. Photo taken on June 15, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Through Reuters
BEFORE: This is another view of the road on the north side of Yellowstone, made on March 30.
Satellite image shows a pre-flood road view south of the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Montana, USA, March 30, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Through Reuters
AFTER: This June 15 photo shows parts of the same road completely erased.
Satellite image shows an overview of road washes south of the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Montana, USA, June 15, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Through Reuters
BEFORE: This image was taken north of Yellowstone National Park, near Carbella, Montana, on September 6, 2021. The Yellowstone River passes through the center of the satellite image.
Satellite image shows an overview of the Yellowstone River and Tom Miner Creek Road before the floods, Carbella, Montana, USA, September 6, 2021.
Maxar Technologies | Through Reuters
AFTER: This June 15 photo shows how the river swelled over its banks.
Satellite image shows a general view of the Yellowstone River and the blurred Tom Miner Creek Road, Carbella, Montana, USA, June 15, 2022. Photo taken on June 15, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Through Reuters
And here is a video of a shed falling into the river:
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