Lamar Valley is located in the northeast section of Yellowstone National Park. Prior to a geological survey of the park in 1885, the nearby river was known as the East Fork of the Yellowstone River. During the 1884-1885 survey, geologist Arnold Hague named the river for Lucius Lamar, the Secretary of the Interior during Grover Cleveland’s first administration. The valley and other surrounding areas derived their name from the former secretary.

During the course of the last ice age, large glaciers carved out the broad mountains found in the Lamar Valley. Evidence of the glacial movement is seen in the form of the wide U-shaped valley that is strewn with boulders, carried and deposited by moving ice from the nearby Beartooth Range. The marshy ponds are also remnants of the Lamer Valley’s glacial period. As the land became drier, ponds filled with silt and gravel. Eventually, the fertilized areas became meadows, providing a source of food for migrating elk and bison.

Lamar Valley is home to many elk, bison, wolves, osprey, bald eagles, antelope, moose, black bears, and grizzlies. As fear grew over the possible extinction of the bison in the early 1900s, Lamar Valley hosted a buffalo ranch to bolster the bison population in Yellowstone until it closed in the 1960s. In 1995, Yellowstone reintroduced grey wolves to the park in Lamar Valley. Since the reintroduction of the grey golf, Lamar Valley and the northern region of the park support the highest density of wolves. The successful reintroduction of the wolf made Lamar Valley the best place for visitors and researchers to safely view wild wolves in their natural habitats.

Researched, written, and narrated by University of West Florida Public History Student Spenser Andrade.