Recently had the pleasure of driving through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA. On the way to the well known Old Faithful checked out the much lesser known Fountain Paint Pots. Amazing.
Picture several hissing, steaming, bubbling, sploshing pockets of earth spread over an area the size of a football field. Each one unique. Some with spouting geysers, some with goopy grey mud.
Personal favourite: the Celestine Pool which is every bit as colourful as this pic nabbed off Flickr if not more so…
That’s a deep pool filled with very hot crystal clear water. The colours are intense and alien.
Why is there so much geo thermal activity in Yellowstone? Because nearly the entire park sits in a caldera. The earth’s magma rises near the surface which creates steam which powers the geysers. Or something like that.
If you’re into doomsday scenarios you can read about how one day the entire park might turn into a super volcano which could potentially have an extinction level effect.
And it could happen tomorrow. :-|
For now, enjoy the pictures…
