"Located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with minor areas also extending into Montana and Idaho, is Yellowstone National Park, a U.S. national park. President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law on March 1, 1872, after the 42nd U.S. Congress created it. In addition to being the first national park in the United States, Yellowstone is commonly regarded as the first national park worldwide.The Old Faithful geyser, one of the park's most well-known geothermal attractions, and its fauna are its main draws.Although it encompasses a wide variety of biomes, the subalpine forest is the most prevalent. It belongs to the ecoregion of South Central Rockies forests. Initially, the U.S. Department of the Interior was in charge of managing and overseeing the park; Columbus Delano was the first interior secretary to do so. But in the end, the U.S. Army was given the responsibility of managing Yellowstone for 30 years, from 1886 to 1916.The park was administered by the National Park Service, which had been established the year before, in 1917. More than 1,000 indigenous archaeological sites have been studied by experts, and hundreds of buildings have been constructed and are conserved for their architectural and historical significance. The 3,468.4 sq mi (8,983 km2) Yellowstone National Park is home to mountain ranges, lakes, canyons, and rivers. Part of the Yellowstone Caldera, the continent's greatest super volcano, is covered by Yellowstone Lake, one of the biggest high-elevation lakes in North America. The caldera is regarded as a volcano that is dormant. In the past two million years, it has erupted twice with immense intensity.Because of this continuous volcanism, Yellowstone is home to well over half of the world's geysers and hydrothermal phenomena. The majority of Yellowstone's land area is covered in rocks and lava flows from volcanic eruptions. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the biggest remaining almost intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone.Yellowstone was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. The Yellowstone River, which gives the park its historical name, roughly divides it in half. The river was given the name Roche Jaune by French trappers near the end of the 18th century, most likely a translation of the Hidatsa name Mi tsi a-da-zi (""Yellow Stone River""). The French name was later translated into English as ""Yellow Stone"" by American trappers. The Native American naming origins for the river is unknown, despite the widespread belief that it was named for the golden rocks found in the Yellowstone Grand Canyon. Native Americans started hunting and fishing in the area at least 11,000 years ago, marking the beginning of the park's human history. The Cook–Folsom–Peterson Expedition of 1869, which included three privately supported explorers, was the first comprehensive trip to the Yellowstone region. The Folsom party arrived at Yellowstone Lake by following the Yellowstone River. In 1870, a group of Montanans organized the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition based on the information recorded in the journal kept by the Folsom party members. In addition to Nathaniel P. Langford (after known as ""National Park"" Langford) and a U.S. Army unit led by Lt. Gustavus Doane, it was led by Henry Washburn, the surveyor-general of Montana. The expedition named sites of interest, collected specimens, and explored the area for approximately a month. Eleven years after his initial unsuccessful attempt, Ferdinand V. Hayden was eventually able to explore the area in 1871. He returned to the area with a second, bigger expedition, the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871, which was sponsored by the government. He put up a thorough report that featured paintings by Thomas Moran and large-format photos by William Henry Jackson. The U.S. Congress was persuaded to remove this area from public sale by the report. The Act of Dedication[8], which established Yellowstone National Park, was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. By air, the park is 54 miles (87 km) west to east and 63 miles (101 km) north to south. With an area of 2,219,789 acres (8,983 km2; 3,468 sq mi), Yellowstone is bigger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined. Five percent of the land is made up of rivers and lakes, with Yellowstone Lake, at 87,040 acres (352 km2; 136 sq mi), being the greatest body of water. Yellowstone Lake has 110 miles (180 km) of shoreline and a maximum depth of 400 feet (120 m). Yellowstone Lake is North America's largest high-elevation lake, rising 7,733 feet (2,357 meters) above sea level.

A hub for politics, business, and culture in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area is San Jose. It has a population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area of 1.95 million, making it the most populated city in Northern California and the Bay Area and the 12th most populated city in the US.San Jose is the county seat of Santa Clara County and occupies 179.97 square miles (466.1 km2) on the southern shore of San Francisco Bay, in the heart of the Santa Clara Valley. With a GDP of $1.03 trillion in 2018, the CSA San Jose, which it shares with San Francisco, was the third-largest urban economy in the nation. At $106,757, this CSA has one of the highest GDPs per capita among the more than 500 major statistical areas in the United States in 2018. There is a height restriction for structures in the downtown area of San Jose Mineta International Airport, which is located beneath the airport's final approach corridor (as shown in the panoramic above). Local ordinances set the height limit, which is determined by the distance from the runway and a slope specified by FAA rules. The maximum height of core downtown buildings is at 300 feet (91 meters), though they can rise higher as they move away from the airport. The city's architecture has been much criticized in recent decades. Residents have voiced their displeasure about San Jose's dearth of visually appealing architectural designs. This lack of architectural "beauty" might be attributed to the downtown area's redevelopment starting in the 1950s, which involved demolishing entire blocks of old residential and commercial buildings. This is not the case for the Downtown Historic District, the Hotel De Anza, and the Hotel Sainte Claire, all of which are recognized for their architectural and historical value and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Numerous institutions and colleges can be found in San Jose. The largest is San José State University, the original site of the California State University (CSU) system and the California State Normal School, established by the California government in 1862. The institution, which has been in downtown San Jose since 1870, offers more than 250 bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degree programs to about 35,000 students. Because San Jose is a charter city under California law, it has the authority to pass municipal regulations that, within the bounds of the charter, may be in violation of state law.Under the city's council-manager system, the mayor nominates and the city council elects the city manager.