Geysers, mudpots, and hot springs -- and, of course, Old Faithful!

Tuesday, 23 July 2013.  Before tackling Yellowstone's "thermal" side, let's take a quick look at some of the Park's history.  Yellowstone National Park was established by Congress in March 1872, making it not only the first national park in the US, but in the world.  Known for its abundant wildlife and its many geothermal features, it is one of our most popular national parks. While Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone area for at least 11,000 years, this region was bypassed by Lewis and Clark during their expedition. Aside from visits by mountain men during the early-to-mid-19th century, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860's. The U.S. Army was actually commissioned to oversee the park and it wasn’t until 1917 that the National Park Service -- created the previous year -- took over administration of Yellowstone. Hundreds of structures have been built over the years and are protected for their architectural and historical significance, and researchers have examined more than 1,000 archaeological sites.

Yellowstone Park spans almost 3,500 sq/miles comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges -- and the vast majority of the Park's land is considered a wilderness region. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered an active volcano and has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years.  Half the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanic activity. Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone and the Park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining, nearly intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone.

Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented throughout the Park, including several that are either endangered or threatened. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live and thrive in the Park, and Yellowstone’s bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the US. Yellowstone Park is also the largest and most famous megafauna location in the Continental US and the Park's vast forests and grasslands include many unique species of plants.  Forest fires are natural events and occur in the park each year; in the large forest fires of 1988, nearly one third of the park was burnt. We saw many information signs along the Parks's roadsides letting us know that this part of Yellowstone's forests had been naturally reseeded thru forest fires. Yellowstone National Park has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing and sightseeing.  And while paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls, actually less than 2% of Yellowstone is considered developed.  The remainder is left as wilderness.

Yellowstone has been designated a US Biosphere Reserve -- a World Heritage Site -- and protects over 10,000 geysers, hot springs, mud pots and steam vents – the earth’s largest array of geothermal features.

Celestine Pool, one of the most beautiful hot springs on the Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail. 

The following three pics depict the steam vents of Roaring Mountain (8,100-ft), named for the numerous fumaroles on the western slope of the peak.

 Saw numerous caution signs such as this throughout the Park -- a word to the wise. 

 One of a number of "hot" lakes, warmed by numerous hot springs.

Notice all the dead and dying trees surrounding this "hot" lake; must be something in the water!

The next few slides were taken at Norris Geyser Basin, which is one of Yellowstone’s prime hydrothermal areas.  Found on the west side of the park, it sits several miles north of Old Faithful..

Notice the monitor of some kind on the dead tree branch. We smelled what seemed to us lots and lots of sulfur odors throughout this whole area.

The following two signs -- displayed along the walkways of Porcelain Basin Trail (part of Norris Geyser Basin) -- told us we were obey the Park's rules and regulations.

Here's more pics of Porcelain Basin Trail.

The following two pics from Norris Geyser Basin depict Ledge Geyser, the second largest geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin. While this geyser can shoot water up to 125-ft into the air, we only saw sprays of a few feet while we were there.  Impressive steam, though!

Another view of Norris Geyser Basin, showing what thermal activity does to the surrounding trees.

The following several pics show more of the impressive Porcelain Geyser Trail of the Norris Geyser Basin.

This was shallow flowing water with brilliant colors -- from the minerals, I guess.

Yep, that's bubbling water.  Hot bubbling water, I might add.

 The Ledge Geyser is just behind us -- just letting off some steam!

The following two pics are of Clepsdra Geyser. Shooting water up to 45-ft into the air almost continuously, Clepsydra is derived from the Greek word for water clock. Prior to the 1959 Yellowstone earthquake, it erupted regularly every three minutes.

Fountain Geyser -- part of the Lower Geyser Basin in Yellowstone -- was not erupting while we were there, but Park info said it could be very impressive.  Just looked like a big hole with steam coming out of it when we were there.  Oh well, can't win them all!

The next few photos depict Yellowstone's Red Spouter, which did not exist until April 17, 1959.  Shortly after midnight on that day, a major earthquake rocked Hebgen Lake, Montana, 25 miles northwest of where Red Spouter exists today.  Jolts ripped through Yellowstone – in the aftermath, Red Spouter was born. This thing just fascinated me -- I just stood there taking shot after shot.  Looked like boiling clay.

Fountain Paint Pot is a vat of bubbling mud that contains the perfect mix of ingredients to create mudpots: heat, gases, water, volcanic rock, minerals, acid and living microorganisms.  Heat-loving “thermophiles” consume some of the gases and help convert them into sulfuric acid.  The acid breaks down rock to form clay – clay that mixes with water in mudpots.   Fountain Paint Pot is named for the reds, yellows and browns of the mud in this area of the Park. The differing colors are derived from oxidation states of the iron in the mud. As with all hot springs, the heat in the caldera forces pressurized water up through the ground, which is than expelled. The rising gasses cause the bubbling action.

Fountain Paint Pot is part of the Park's Lower Geyser Basin region.

This pic shows what's happening all over the Park to the trees and shrubs that surround the hot lakes and springs.  The following photo shows what eventually happens over time.

Old Faithful

Old Faithful at its full height on the day we were there.  Not quite as spectacular as some days!

Before we left the East Coast to begin our journey west, my youngest grand-daughter, Rayne, asked me to be sure and take a photo of Old Faithful when we visited Yellowstone. Since I didn't want to disappoint her, I made extra sure we planned plenty of time to catch Old Faithful in action -- it erupts every 90-minutes or so.  Unfortunately, Old Faithful just wasn't itself -- or should I say, spectacular self -- the day we were there. We were mightily disappointed at the lack of a "huge" eruption, and, I'm sad to say, these are the best of the multiple shots I took.  Hope they fit the bill, Rayne!

 Nearing the 90-minute mark, Old Faithful begins some steam activity.

 Starting to see some water spurting out of Old Faithful.

 Tourists gathering to watch Old Faithful erupt.  The famous Old Faithful Inn is in the background.

 Gathering steam.....

 Gathering more steam.....

 Old Faithful now spewing water and steam all over the place.....

 View from behind the crowd at Old Faithful's doorstep.

 Almost at its maximum height.....

 Old Faithful in all its glory -- max height on this day.

And Old Faithful sputtering out.  But wait another 90-minutes or so, and back she'll come!

And for those who'd like to see Old Faithful in a more dynamic pic, here's one from the Park's archives.

We concluded our day's tour of Yellowstone's geysers, mudpots, and hot springs with an exit visit of the Mammoth Hot Springs (MHS), near the north entrance into the Park at Gardiner.  MHS features are quite different from thermal areas elsewhere in Yellowstone. Travertine formations grow much more rapidly than sinter formations due to the softer nature of limestone. As hot water rises through limestone, large quantities of rock are dissolved by the hot water, and a white chalky mineral is deposited on the surface.

 This warning sign was enough to keep us on the walkways.

 Mammoth Hot Springs village can be seen in the background.  MHS also served as the Park's original headquarters when the US Army built Fort Yellowstone here.  Many of the Fort's original buildings and structures now serve as tourist or administrative functions for the Park.

 I called this MHS formation "Elephant Rock."  Anybody else see the resemblance?

 A closer view of "Elephant Rock"

 Another view of "Elephant Rock."  See, it does look like Dumbo lying down!

 A side view of Dumbo.

So, that concludes the blog entry for Yellowstone's thermal attractions.  One more blog entry -- this one featuring the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and its Upper and Lower waterfalls -- will conclude the Yellowstone adventure.  Then its on to Alaska!