How did Yellowstone get its name?

How did Yellowstone National Park get its name? Is the yellow rocks? Is it all the paint pots? Surprisingly no. Yellowstone was name after the Yellowstone River. The 670 mile long river flows through Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota. The Minnetaree tribe that lived in what is now the eastern part of Montana called the river ‘Mi tsi a da zi’  or “rock yellow river” for the yellow colored cliffs overlooking the banks in the northern part of the park.  In 1794, explorer, David Thompson, translated the name into English, Yellow Stone. Lewis and Clark used both the English translation and the French translation, Roche Jaune, in their documents of the area. The area the Yellowstone River flows through was then known as “Yellowstone Country” and that name was used for our country’s first national park.