One way Hayden made the information and images of Yellowstone available to the general public was through stereo views. Stereo views were a popular pastime of the era, and were made using a special double camera with two horizontal lenses placed two and one-half inches apart. Each lens recorded the image as seen by each eye. The resulting prints were pasted on a piece of cardboard with an accompanying caption identifying the scene. When viewed through the stereoscope, the eyes combined the separate two-dimensional scenes into one three-dimensional image. This shocking result made viewers feel as if they were actually visiting the scene depicted. Some of the first cards of Yellowstone used photographs by Jackson, bringing this remote region to the American public. Stereo views of Yellowstone were produced in great numbers and contributed to the park's growing popularity. For many people, this was their first and only view of Yellowstone and its wonders.

Illustration (top): William Henry Jackson, Crater of the Castle Geyser, ca. 1871-1873, stereo view card, no. 558. McCracken Research Library, MS21 Yellowstone National Park Collection, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming. ST.21.3.

Illustration (bottom): Stereoscope, 1904. McCracken Research Library, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyoming.