While Old Faithful is the most famous geyser in Yellowstone, it is far from the only one. What makes Yellowstone such a unique place is its many geysers, mudpots, fumaroles, hot springs, and other unique geological features. A collapsed volcanic caldera forms the center of the park, and underneath the ground the heat creates the amazing features which Yellowstone is famous for.
When we first arrived at Yellowstone through the western entrance, we were headed down to Grand Teton National Park and intended to stop at places in the park along the way. Our first stop was off to the west in the Lower Geyser Basin. Here we walked along a boardwalk which led to a number of interesting features. I was first struck by the trees. They were dead, but most have white residue around the base which makes for interesting features as they stick up above the ground. As we continued on we saw hot springs, paint pots, and geysers. I loved the blue color in the springs. While this was not a large area, it was a great introduction to what was to come. (I took a lot of pictures in Yellowstone so this will be a photo heavy post)
We continued in the Lower Geyser Basin driving off to a road on the east side. Here there are a number of places to stop and check out the features. We saw our first dome geyser although it wasn’t spouting any water. Toward the end of the drive we came to a small lake area that had features in it. The steam coming off it gave the place an eerie feel. You could also see places where steam was coming up from fumaroles in the distance. It was a fun place for atmospheric photos.
Unfortunately time was beginning to get away from us so we headed down to Old Faithful. As a result we didn’t stop at Midway Geyser Basin which has some great geysers and should be a place to check out. Hopefully we can get back to it some day.
Old Faithful is not quite as predictable as I thought it was. It is so popular, however, that there are benches set up around the side of the geyser. It reminded me of theater seating except it was nature that was putting on the show. Old Faithful was a little late in starting, but eventually it arrived. It sputtered a number of times before finally bursting forth in full height.
I had originally planned to capture it on video, but I had a new camera, and it wasn’t cooperating. I could only get still shots. Meanwhile my wife was able to capture it on video with her iPhone. She often saves my day. We had some young girls nearby, and the video captures their comments which is fun.
I think my favorite place to explore was West Thumb Geyser Basin which we visited a few days later returning from Grand Teton National Park. The basin is next to Yellowstone Lake, and perhaps that is part of its charm as the lake view adds to the beauty of the spot. However, I also enjoyed the colors, and some of the hot spots were even on the edge of the lake. It was late afternoon when we visited, and there were not a lot of people so it really felt calm there. It’s less than a mile to walk the entire area. Since it’s near the south end of the park, it might be easy to dismiss, but you will want to visit there.
A few days later we visited Norris Geyser Basin. This is a large area with a long walk around the various geysers and other features. The best known geyser here is Steamboat which can shoot up higher than any of the others in the park. When we were near it, there was a crowd watching it, but it wasn’t shooting up very high, and we didn’t wait around to see if it would go higher.
There are two routes to check out here. The larger Back Basin is a one and a half mile walk and includes a variety of different features. In general the interior area is fairy desolate because of the heat. One of the more interesting information pieces was at Porkchop Geyser. In 1989 it had a huge eruption sending rocks into the sky. There were eight tourists nearby, but fortunately none were hurt. I’m sure that must have been something to remember.
The smaller Porcelain Basin is a three quarter mile walk. We did not walk around this area as it was getting late, but we could still see much of the area from a distance. It has a very barren feel to it as well.
Next to the entrance of the basin is the Norris Museum. This is an old historic structure that houses information about the Norris basin.
The final area of interest is the Mammoth Hot Springs. This was the last main feature we saw at the park as we were leaving. It is located near the north entrance. This is a unique feature as it is actually something that continues to create itself. The water flow carries limestone out which gets left behind as travertine terraces. While this was an unusual landscape, it was not as beautiful as I had imagined. The brownish colors that dominant in many areas are not colors I enjoy.
There are two areas to check out here. The first one is the lower section where you are looking up at the terraces and see the water running down. There are boardwalk here to follow around to the various viewpoints.
The second area is up above. From there one looks down on the terraces and the pool of water where the flow begins. There is not as much parking up above so it can be a little tricky to park there. Of the various scenic areas we went to, this was the most crowded of the thermal areas. This may be because it was the closest to the main north entrance.
There are a few other smaller places where you can see these interesting phenomenons, but these are the main ones to check out especially if you are visiting for the first time. The one thing to note is that this can be a dangerous place because the geysers and other features are very hot. Just this last week I read that a child had fallen into one of the hot areas and was burned. There are warnings all around reminding visitors to stay on the trails and boardwalks.
If you have visited Yellowstone, do you have a favorite geyser or hot spring area when you visited? I’d love to have you share your thoughts in the comment section below. Next week I’ll share some of the other interesting elements of this amazing park.