There is a whole other side to the Park, one which is every bit as interesting, exciting and beautiful to some people as the scenery and wildlife. That is the side of the Park you see when you begin to understand the wealth of evidence that the whole Park is sitting on top of an active volcano!
The tremendous heat generated by the molten rock somewhere deep below the surface interacts with the water that finds its way down there to create a number of hydrothermal manifestations on the surface. Among those are: Hot Springs, Geysers, Mud Pots, Fumaroles, and Hot Springs Terraces.
Rather than try to explain all these phenomena here, you can get all of the scientific info by following the above links and we'll spend our time uploading videos and pictures of the actual thing. Deal?
As to the theories of how all of these work, follow this link. The link also has maps showing the extent of the Caldera formed by the previous eruptions and how the volcano migrated to its present location. Interesting stuff.
So here is what a Fumerole (Steam Vent) looks and sounds like. Turn the volume up for the full effect. You'll be listening to water that is being turned to super heated steam and increasing its volume by 1200 times and it is loud -- even though the process is taking place about 1500 feet below......
Next, my favorite, the Mud Pot!
A Hot Spring. Like the others, it runs 24/7.........
Here's another, kind of a cross between a hot spring and a mud pot. The Red Spouter!
And, the best at last, the Geyser. There are more than 300 of these spread around the park. Not all are so showy, but many are more powerful than this.
So where does all that hot water go? Here's 4000 gallons a minute flowing into the nearby river......
Just to finish with a little "pretty", here's a flower;
and, part of yesterday's sunset!
can't wait to see what tomorrow brings......
MMG and DDG
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