With the ecological integrity of Yellowstone National Park in contention between developers and environmentalists, the events of its exploration and founding take on added interest. This journal brings back into print one of the principal sources of information on the exploration of the Yellowstone region and its establishment as America's first national park. The findings of the 1870 Washburn expedition, of which Langford was a member, gave credence to the findings of the Folsom party of 1869 and resulted in the sending of a government survey party into the area in 1871.