On March 1, 1872 President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law, making Yellowstone the first national park and ensuring its 3,500 square miles of land were protected for future generations.

The photos below show the awe-inspiring beauty of Yellowstone, courtesy of the National Park Service and its photographic community, ShareTheExperience.org. For more amazing images of our national parks, follow the U.S. Department of the Interior on Instagram.