In this photo brochure provided by the National Park Service, water levels in the Gardner River rise along the north entrance road to Yellowstone National Park on June 13, 2022 in Gardiner, Montana.
Brochure | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Floods have decimated parts of and around Yellowstone National Park, and a series of satellite images of similar locations before and after the flood show the extent of the damage.
The images, embedded below, show the enormous power of what the National Park Service has called “unprecedented flooding.”
The floods were caused by heavy rain and the rapid melting of snow.
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The map shows rainfall in June in northwestern Wyoming.
AP
While it is difficult to blame the Yellowstone National Park floods directly on climate change, a 2018 study found that “climate change exposes the national park area more than the U.S. as a whole” because parks are generally located in especially high elevations or dry places.
Yellowstone National Park is huge, spanning 3,472 square miles, mostly in Wyoming, and is limited to Montana and Idaho only slightly.
The worst of the floods occurred in the northern part of the park, so this section of the park is likely to “remain closed for a substantial amount of time,” the National Park Service said in an update to its newsletter published on the flood. .
The three pairs of satellite images before and after, embedded below, give an idea of the scale of the water damage, which has caused the buildings to go straight into the Yellowstone River.
BEFORE: A road at the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park, seen here on March 30, 2022.
A satellite image shows an overview of a pre-flood road to the north entrance entrance of Yellowstone National Park, Montana, USA, March 30, 2022 Photograph taken on March 30, 2022 2022.
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AFTER: This satellite image of the north entrance of Yellowstone was taken on June 15, after the flood, and shows parts of the road washed away.
A satellite image shows an overview of various road debris to the north entrance entrance of Yellowstone National Park, Montana, USA, on June 15, 2022. Image taken on June 15, 2022 .
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BEFORE: This is another view of a road on the north side of Yellowstone taken on March 30th.
A satellite image shows an overview of a road before the flood south of the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park, Montana, USA, on March 30, 2022.
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AFTER: This June 15 photo shows parts of the same road completely cleared.
A satellite image shows an overview of the road debris south of the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park, Montana, USA, June 15, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Via Reuters
BEFORE: This photo 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.
A satellite image shows an overview of the Yellowstone River and Tom Miner Creek Road before the floods, Carbella, Montana, USA, on September 6, 2021.
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AFTER: This June 15 photo shows how the river has swelled along its banks.
A satellite image shows an overview of the Yellowstone River and Tom Miner Creek Road, Carbella, Montana, USA, June 15, 2022. Image taken June 15, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Via Reuters
And here’s a video of a shed falling into the river: