Yellowstone National Park gets a whopping 4.5 million visitors each year, per the U.S. Department of the Interior. And all those tourists bring lots of stuff with them to the famous national park.
And many of these items are frequently left behind, dropped, or yes, intentionally thrown, into the national park‘s most famous hydrothermal areas and geysers (including the Old Faithful) and throughout the land. Earlier this month, The Yellowstone National Park Geology Team released a report of debris removal statistics from conservation cleanups this year.
And the data is mind-blowing: they found “more than 20,100 pieces of trash, 5,600 rocks and sticks, and over 280 hats from hydrothermal areas around the park.”
Along with the report, they released a number of photos featuring the funky, funny, and oddball things they collected.
Photo Courtesy: U.S. Geological Survey
Funky finds
The largest find of all was hats. Standouts included a “FIFA 2026 Men’s World Cup hat, a baseball cap with ‘COWBOY HAT’ on it, and a Roblox bucket hat from St. Kitts and Nevis”. A cool sidenote: the Geological Team noted that any hats that are in good shape will be washed and donated to local organizations.
Other notable items included camera lens caps, dozens of sunglasses and glasses, and hair accessories including barettes, claw clips, hair ties and scrunchies. A number of pens and pencils were recovered, as well as baby’s pacifiers.
Photo Courtesy: U.S. Geological Survey
Literal “big money” items included coins and a few dollar bills. The Geological Team totaled it up, and they found more than $18.00 worth of coins.
Jewelry was also found, from rings to earrings to necklaces and bracelets. A few odd buttons were recovered, along with 15 fake nails.
But it was the trinkets that were the most entertaining. Mini “Jesus Loves You” figurines, Invisalign retainers, AirPods, a fidget spinner, toy cars, shovels, aviator wing pins, rubber duckies, dinosaurs, Legos and more.
Photo Courtesy: U.S. Geological Survey
The Yellowstone Geology team also had their highlights, which included “7 instant/Polaroid pictures (including several depicting the hydrothermal features they were found in!), the 6 Yellowstone pressed pennies, 4 Pokémon cards and figurines, and a tiny (2 inch) copy of The Vampire Diaries!”
Keeping Yellowstone’s waters clean
Besides man-made items, the report also mentioned that thousands of rocks and sticks were thrown into different hot springs and geysers. While the material may be “natural”, they are equally destructive to the waters.
Another U.S. Geological report explained that, for example, “Minute Geyser, which once erupted as high as 60 feet in Norris Geyser Basin, stopped erupting in 1947 when a rock was thrown into its vent and could not be dislodged.”
Photo Courtesy of: Margery Price/U.S. Geological Survey
In another example, they noted that due to debris being thrown into it, “Morning Glory has since cooled and changed color, probably because of this damage.”
So how do they do it?
“The team passes through the geyser basins with special tools, collecting debris and remediating vandalism (including carvings into bacterial mats) and other damage,” the report explains.
They also add that tourists can do their part to help keep the park clean by not throwing rocks, sticks, or any other item into the hot springs. They also should “stash your trash” by putting “wrappers, tissues, and other easily windblown items deep in your pockets, a bag, or, even better, a trash can!”
