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Yellowstone National Park (7)
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Other Hydrothermal Features Around the Park
Norris Geyser Basin
There are 9 different geyser basins within the confines of Yellowstone National Park. The most famous, and the one with the greatest concentration of hydrothermal features, is the Upper Geyser Basin, discussed in detail on a previous page. Another of the best known and most interesting is the Norris Geyser Basin.
The Norris Geyser Basin is located in the northwest central region of the park at an altitude of 7484 feet. First visited by Eugene S. Tapping in 1872, and named after Philetus W. Norris, the 2nd superintendent of the park and initiator of much road construction in the park, it is the hottest and most active thermal area within the park and in fact has the world's hottest ground. This ground heat prevents snow cover in the winter. There is a strong odor of sulfur apparent in the geyser basin. The water in the springs here is also not only hotter but more acidic than the other geyser basins in the park.
Views of the Norris Geyser Basin were opened up somewhat by the 1988 fire, but in any event it is a very strange looking place
Steamboat Geyser One of the most noteworthy hydrothermal features in the basin, and in the park, is Steamboart Geyser. This impressive hydrothermal feature is the park's, and in fact the world's, largest geyser, erupting to a height somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 to in excess of 400 feet. This geyser has an erratic record of major eruptions, with intervals between eruptions ranging from a few days to 50 years! The feature was named by the 1878 Hayden Expedition for its resemblance to the spouting of a steamboat.
Cistern Spring This feature is 27 by 41 feet and 31 feet deep. In 1966 it was transformed from a small gray pool to the current large, colorful pool with terraces seen below.
Cistern Spring serves as a reservoir for Steamboat Geyser. When the later erupts the water in Cistern Spring nearly empties, requiring 1 to 3 days to replenish itself.
Midway Geyser Basin
The Midway Geyser Basin is located along the banks of the Firehole River, about 16 miles of the Upper Geyser Basin. It contains a relatively small collection of very large springs. It contains two of the largest hot springs in the world
Excelsior Geyser This geyser was once extremely large, with a crater of a 250 by 300 feet, erupting to a height of over 300 feet and gushing forth 4000 of gallons of scalding water per minute. This geyser, whose name in Latin means "even higher" erupted as much water in a single day as Old Faithful delivers in 2 months. This water would overflow into the Firehole River which flows next to the geyser. The temperature of this overflow is about 199 degrees.
The crater which holds Excelsior Geyser is about 276 by 328 feet. It was once the largest geyser in the world. However, its last major eruptions occurred in the 1880's. Actually, the geyser erupted for 2 days in 1985, although only to 20-28 feet Vents churn and boil water in the spring, which cause it to be covered in a layer of steam.
Grand Prismatic Spring This feature, the other large hot spring in Midway Geyser Basin, is very large. It measures 250 feet by 350 feet, and thus is the largest hot spring in the park. It is also the second largest feature of this type in the entire world. Microorganisms are responsible for the colors observed in the pool, largely blue in the middle with blue-green near the edges.
Turquoise Pool This feature, named by the 1878 Hayden Expedition for its blue-colored water. Measuring 100 by 110 feet, this pool has an apparent underground connection with Excelsior Geyser.
Lower Geyser Basin
After the Upper Geyser Basin, and the Midway Geyser Basin, the next collection of hydrothermal features downstream on the Firehole River is The Lower Geyser Basin. This basin covers about 12 square miles and features 17 hot springs. Its most popular feature is the Great Fountain Geyser.
The Lower Geyser Basin features an impressive variety of hydrothermal features. These include geysers, mud pots, pools, springs, and fumaroles. Fumaroles discharge water vapor and gasses such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, which often can be noticed via its distinct rotten egg smell.
The beautiful pool known as Silex Spring measures 35.5 by 39.4 feet and is 27 feet deep. The spring occasionally bubbles and from time to time large bubbles of gas rise to the surface. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide rise from the spring. The 1959 earthquake apparently caused the spring to erupt and also increased its flow.
The Fountain Paint Pot feature consists of pool of bubbling hot clay and mud tinted by iron oxide. The geothermal feature is increasing in size. The features was originally christened "Mud Puff" by the 1871 Hayden Survey
Mud Volcano Area
Located in the eastern central section of the park, the Mud Volcano area features a number of very interesting hydrothermal features. The area was explored by both the Washburn and Hayden expeditions of 1870 and 1871.
Mud pots are some of the most unusual of the hydrothermal features. With these features a limited amount of water is mixed with clay. Steam rises through ground water and dissolves the rocks into clays. The result is a soup collection of hot acid clay. The feature is called a "paint pot" if the mud is tinted.
The key feature in this area is the Mud Volcano, seen below. Mud volcanoes expel mud when they erupt. They release steam and other gasses which have been trapped by viscous mud. The "Mud Volcano" feature was named by the 1870 Washburn Expedition. It exploded with considerable ferocity at that time, but has quieted somewhat by the present time.
The Mud Volcano is actually quite acidic, and as such is noxious to algae. Mineral oxides provide the color the display. There is a 1 mail loop trail in the Mud Volcano area. The dark gray water in the feature churns and bubbles, and mud from the "volcano" splashes up into trees.
The Mud Volcano area features a nice meadow surrounded by hills. Like some of the other collections of hydrothermal features, it serves as a wintering area for buffalo.
Black Dragon's Cauldron is a large hydrothermal feature which measures 80 by 200 feat in size and 36 feet deep. This feature apparently did not exist before the winter of 1947-1948, apparently being discovered on June 10, 1948. When discovered, the crater measured 43 by 68 feet but has since increased in size.
Located a short distance to the north and west of Black Dragon Cauldron, the large hydrothermal area known as Cooking Hillside can be found.
Other Features
Southwest of the Norris geyser basin, along the Gibbon River, is the Gibbon Geyser Basin. Just south of this basin is Beryl Spring, shown below.
The feature known as Roaring Mountain, found along the main park road about 4.5 miles north of Norris Geyser Basin, was named in 1885 by two geologists, Arnold Hague and Walter Weed. The name is derived from the noise made by the sound of steam escaping from the many fumaroles which exist on the slope here. In 1902, many of the trees on the site were killed, but the barren appearance of the hillside is the result of the leaching of sulfuric acid. At this point in time, there is little "roaring" from the area, but on cold days steam can be observed rising from the cliffs.
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