Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks 9/19/2015 - 9/26/2015

Day 3 - On our way to see the geysers, we saw a lot more bison, some of which were strolling down the road. A bull and cow walked beside us at one point, appearing to be deep in conversation. Admittedly, we eavesdropped a little on the deep, bass, guttural “words” of the bull.

Turning to more “hot” topics, it is worth mentioning that Yellowstone is sitting on a large, active supervolcano that is monitored 24 hours a day. The geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots are a constant reminder of the turmoil just under the ground. Will it erupt again? It’s hard to say. Things are changing all the time, both volcanically and seismically. It would be devastating if it did, or rather, it will be devastating when it does.

On our visit, Old Faithful had many false starts, which Jared can attest to (it took nine takes to film it erupting!). Still, it was a thrilling sight to see, as were all the geysers we visited. This area was rocked by three volcanoes: the first, 2.1 million years ago; the second, 1.3 million years ago; and the third, 640,000 years ago. Ash spewed across most of the continental U.S., and the calderas that were formed by the volcanoes essentially collapsing, were filled in with lava.

Geysers need three things: an active heat source, a lot of water, and fractures in the earth’s crust, which are kept open by earthquakes. Incidentally, Yellowstone has more earthquakes than any other place in the continental U.S. besides California (they occur daily, but you can’t feel most of them). They keep the geysers and hot springs in a constant state of flux, helping to create new ones when mineral deposits seal up old ones. They can also disrupt the “pipes” and change a geyser’s pattern and frequency of eruption.

Here’s how the hydrothermal features in Yellowstone work: A shallow body of magma heats the rock around it, which conducts the heat to the groundwater (rain & snow melt that seeps for miles into the ground). As the water exceeds the boiling point, it rises through fractures in the rock. The difference between a hot spring and a geyser is that the water in a geyser is constricted by an obstruction near the top of the system. Think of hot springs as water flowing from a garden hose. If you put your finger over the end of the hose, the water is obstructed and starts shooting out – just like a geyser! Amazingly enough, the water’s journey can last for decades or even thousands of years!

By the way, there are two types of geysers: Fountain, which have wide openings (vents); and Cone, which have narrow openings (vents) that work like a nozzle to create the shooting columns of water we see above ground.

Not a good idea to walk up to geysers and hot springs – the ground around them can be very thin, and if steppe on can cave into boiling water or scalding mud. We saw plenty of evidence of bison and elk having done that – sometimes their footprints started new springs altogether!

Close Window • Day 1 • Day 2 • Day 3 • Day 4 • Day 5 • Day 6

• “Mornin’…”
• A bison on a mission…sauntering on down the road!
• A bull and cow deep in conversation, oblivious to the traffic jam they’ve caused.
• Supposedly a baby Big Horn Sheep
• Maureen and Jared making their way to see Old Faithful!
• Old Faithful
• Old Faithful
• Old Faithful
• Old Faithful
• Colorful microorganisms line the geyser and hot spring run-off. They’re called “extremophiles” because they inhabit areas once considered too extreme to host life. Those that live in this hot water are called “thermophiles” – heat-lovers.
• Thermophiles
• Thermophiles
• The intense blue is from sunlight being scattered by fine particles suspended in the water. The yellow, orange and brown colors are caused by thermophiles.
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Comet Geyser
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Giant Geyser
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Grotto Geyser (Maureen’s favorite cone-type geyser) is thought to have emerged in a stand of dead or dying trees and, over hundreds or thousands of years, deposited layer after layer of silica over the stumps and branches.
• Another shot of Grotto Geyser
• Riverside Geyser along the Firehole River is one of the most predictable in the park. It shoots up to 75 feet for 22 minutes every 5 ½ - 7 ½ hours.
• Riverside Geyser
• Maureen and Jared at the Riverside Geyser
• Riverside Geyser and the Firehole River
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Morning Glory Pool – In 1950, water was siphoned out of it, inducing it to erupt. It coughed up 112 objects that were thrown into it by early visitors. The debris hampered the water flow, causing a decline in temperature, which caused bacteria to grow in the cooler yellow and orange edges of the pool.
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Grotto Geyser erupting!
• Upper Geyser Basin
• Castle Geyser
• Castle Geyser
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• More bison!
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Sapphire Pool at Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Biscuit Basin
• Midway Geyser Basin
• Midway Geyser Basin
• Midway Geyser Basin emptying into the Firehole River
• Midway Geyser Basin
• Midway Geyser Basin
• Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin
• Midway Geyser Basin
• Midway Geyser Basin
• Midway Geyser Basin
• Midway Geyser Basin
• Midway Geyser Basin
• Lower Geyser Basin
• Lower Geyser Basin
• Lower Geyser Basin
• Lower Geyser Basin
• Lower Geyser Basin
• Lower Geyser Basin
• Lower Geyser Basin
• Firehole Canyon
• Madison River
• Elk cow eating by the Madison River
• Elk cow eating by the Madison River
• Mama and baby

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