In this handout photo provided by the National Park Service, water levels in Gardner River rise alongside the North Entrance Road in Yellowstone National Park on June 13, 2022 in Gardiner, Montana.
Handout | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Floods decimated portions of Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding area earlier this week, and a series of satellite images from before and after the flooding show the extent of the damage.
The images show the tremendous power of what the National Park Service called “unprecedented flooding,” caused by heavy rain and rapid snowmelt.
Map shows rainfall in June for northwest Wyoming.
AP
While the flooding at Yellowstone may not be directly attributable to climate change, a 2018 study showed “climate change exposes the national park area more than the US as a whole” because the parks are generally located at especially high elevations or dry locations.
Yellowstone is massive, spreading across 3,472 square miles, primarily in Wyoming and edging into Montana and Idaho.
The worst of the flooding happened in the park’s northern portion, which is “likely to remain closed for a substantial length of time,” the park service said in an update to its posted bulletin about the flooding.
The three pairs of before-and-after satellite images, embedded below, give a sense of the scale of the water damage, which has caused buildings to wash into the Yellowstone River.
BEFORE: A road at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park, seen here on March 30.
A satellite image shows an overview of a road before floods towards the entrance to Yellowstone National Park north entrance, Montana, U.S. March 30 2022 Picture taken March 30 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Via Reuters
AFTER: This satellite image of the north entrance of Yellowstone was taken on June 15, after the flooding, and shows portions of the road washed out.
A satellite image shows an overview of multiple road washouts towards the entrance to Yellowstone National Park north entrance, Montana, U.S. June 15, 2022. Picture taken June 15, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Via Reuters
BEFORE: This is another view of a road on the north side of Yellowstone taken on March 30.
A satellite image shows an overview of a road before flooding South of Yellowstone National Park north entrance, Montana, U.S. March 30, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Via Reuters
AFTER: This June 15 photo shows portions of the same road completely wiped out.
A satellite image shows an overview of road washouts south of Yellowstone National Park north entrance, Montana, U.S. June 15, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Via Reuters
BEFORE: This photo was taken north of Yellowstone, near Carbella, Montana, on Sept. 6. The Yellowstone River runs through the center of the satellite image.
A satellite image shows an overview of the Yellowstone River and Tom Miner Creek Road before floods, Carbella, Montana, U.S. September 6, 2021.
Maxar Technologies | Via Reuters
AFTER: This June 15 photo shows how the swollen river has overflowed its banks.
A satellite image shows an overview of the Yellowstone River and washed out Tom Miner Creek Road, Carbella, Montana, U.S. June 15, 2022. Picture taken June 15, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | Via Reuters
And this video shows a shed falling into the river:
