Yellowstone National Park is home to some 10,000 thermal features with over 500 hundred geysers. Yellowstone NP contains the majority of the worlds geysers. Yellowstone sits inside a volcanic caldera formed over 600,000 years ago. Heat from the volcanic activity makes its presence known by heating ground water and creating the therma features we now see. The four basic types of
thermal features present in the Park are geysers, hot springs, fumaroles, and mudpots. Many of these are concentrated in Yellowstone's major geyser basins: Upper, Midway, Lower, Norris, West Thumb, Shoshone and Heart Lake.
Below is a listing of images of our visit to Yellowstone National Park in August of 2002. We came up from Grand Teton National Park entering Yellowstone through the South Entrance. The first major site we visited was West Thumb. Its hot springs are still very clear and has that familiar blue/emerald color I remember from back in 1992. During our stop there, a bull bison walked through the crowd and grazed in the middle of the broadwalks. It was fascinating to see the cones of hot spring right on the edge of Yellowstone Lake. The next stop was to Old Faithful. While we sat and waited for Old Faithful to erupt, we were treated to a nearby geyser eruption. Within minutes of that eruption, Old Faithful erupted for a period of several minutes.
By clicking on the GIF images, you will bring up a larger JPEG view of them.
The Upper Geyser Basin - is famous for hosting Old Faithful Geyser. But there is much more in the area than just this famous geyser.
The Upper Geyser Basin - The Upper Geyser Basin also boasts the largest concentration of geysers in the world, including many of the worlds largest geysers.
MorningGlory - One of the most beautiful of the hot Springs in Upper Geyers Basin.
Emerald Pool - One of the most popular photo
subjects is Emerald Pool. When the blue sky reflects in its yellow basin the water turns a beautiful emerald green.
Grand Prismatic Spring - A view of the Grand Prismatic from the Firehole River. Grand Prismatic Spring issurrounded by brilliant shades of green, yellow, orange, and red.
Grand Prismatic Spring - at over 300 feet across is the largest hot spring in Yellowsone. The various colors of the cyano-bacteria around the pool are quite pretty
Excelsior Geyser - a very large crater that emits a copious amount of water
Prand Prismatic Spring - Also in this surprising basin is Yellowstone's largest hot springs. The orange color comes from the bateria mat
Firehole Lake - Firehole lake is the largest hot spring in the vicinity. The average temperature of this lake is a steaming 158° F.
Firehole Lake - Example of build-up of mineral deposits on the stream bed.
Fountain Paint Pot Trail - Along this short walk you will see very good examples of most types of thermal features found in Yellowstone. These features include some very pretty hot pools, steaming fumaroles, erupting geysers and mudpots
Fountain Paint Pots, - Color is not as dramatic as in the past but still very pretty. The mud bubbles up in colors of blue, orange and pink.
Fountain Paint Pot Trail - The boardwalk takes you to an overlook where you can photograph many geysers in various stages of activity.
Firehold Falls - Jason climbing out on some rock at the bottom of Firehole Falls.
Gibbon Falls - Located about 4 miles east of Madison.
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - Yellowstone's Grand Canyon may not be as big as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, but it
is nonetheless breathtaking.
Lower Falls - The Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon, at 308 feet high.
Lower Falls -Be certain to take the 3/8 mile (one way) hike down to the edge of the Lower Falls. The experience at the lip of the falls is breathtaking
Upper Falls - Located about a mile from the Lower Falls, only a few yards from the parking lot. A view over the edge
Norris Basin - The "stars" of Norris are the strange look of Porcelain Basin and the fun eruptions of Echinus Geyser. Norris Geyser Basin is home to the largest active geyser in the world, Steamboat Geyser. Steamboat can reach 380 feet and its steam phase can be heard miles away
The Porcelain Basin - presents a beautiful but desolate visage which is unlike any of the other geyser
basins in Yellowstone.
The Porcelain Basin - Rainbow Colors, hissing steam, and pungent odors combine to create an experience
unique in the Norris Area
The Porcelain Basin - A wide view of Porcelain Basin. Parts of the whitish rock-sheet before you pulsate from the pressure of steam and boiling water beneath them.
West Thumb Geyser Basin - a small collection of geysers and hot springs located on the shore of Lake Yellowstone. Two of Yellowstone's prettiest pools, Black Pool and Abyss Pool are found here.
Another pool at West Thumb - the pool is cooling, allowing Yellow algae to grow and turning the original deep pure blue into a bluegreen color.
Abyss Pool - When calm, abyss pool resembles a bottomless pit, and descends 53 feet. The colors of the pool change with the temperature, and varies from turquoise blue to emerald green.
Yellowstone Lake - Run off from the many geyers flowing into Yellowstone Lake
Fishing Cone - On the edge of Yellowstone lake, Fishermen used to cook their catch in the nature cooking pot.
Bison - A bison shows no fear of human, calmly walking through the crowd to graze in the middle of the broadwalks.
