Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park, photographed from the Space Shuttle Endeavour at 2,320 meters above sea level, is the largest high altitude lake in N. America. The Absaroka Range is the line of snow capped peaks. Yellowstone (est 1872) is the world's oldest national park covering 9,000 kilometres on a plateau surrounded by mountains over 3,600 meters. Most of the plateau was formed from once-molten lava flows. Nearly 10,000 hot springs, 200 geysers and numerous vents can be found in the park. (Oct 1994)