", redirect:"", Name:"Geysers in Yellowstone (pg.1 of 2):
", Text:"Yellowstone is a country teeming with an estimated 10,000 thermal features. Of these only three percent are geysers. The rest are steaming pools, hissing fumaroles, bubbling mud pots or warm seeps.
'Old Faithful' (Yellowstone's most notable and famous geyser), has regular eruptions, ocurring every 45 to 90 minutes (approximately).
Most of Yellowstone's geysers are small, and sputter and splash, barely reaching ten feet in height. Only six grand geysers, those which erupt 100 feet or higher on a predictable daily basis, exist.
Beneath this thermal basins lie the mechanisms which create such features. The most essential element is volcanic magma (molten rock) under the earth surface, but scientists still are not sure exactly how close to the surface this magma lies.
<-Previous
Geysers in Yellowstone (pg.2 of 2):
", Text:"Geologists believe the earth's crust is less than 40 miles thick in Yellowstone compared to 90 miles under most other land areas. Here, continous discharging of volcanic energy releases into the thin crust, below the park surface. These volcanic releases are called 'Magma Intrusions' (also known as plutons), which are typically at depths of four to ten miles below the surface.
In most regions of the earth's crust the temperature gradient averages recorded are about 1.4°F per 100 feet. Thermal testing conducted at the' Norris Geyser Basin'(a well drilled geo-thermal research site) documented a recorded temperature of 401°F at a depth of 265 feet, which equals a ground temperature gradient of an astonishing 123°F per 100 feet at this particular test site.
<-Previous
"}; var hotpools = []; hotpools[0]={pic:"
", redirect:"<-Previous
Hot Pools and Hot Springs in Yellowstone:
", Text:"The hot springs and pools found in Yellowstone's thermal basins contain algae, bacteria and fungi that are globally unique. Caution is advised all times of year, due to risk of slip or fall into hot pools. Don't approach or short cut through geyser basins after dark as there is a greater chance to accidentally slip or step into a hot spring. For your safety and for the protection of thermal features in Yellowstone, it is illegal to swim, bathe or soak in any thermal spring or pool.
Many springs and pools in Yellowstone are extremely hot, acidic or very alkaline; only a small number are neutral. The effects of some types of warm water bacteria and fungi, if swallowed or contracted through open cuts or the skin are not totally known. One type of organism is known to cause childhood meningitis. Algae mats on the sides and bottoms of a pool could be destroyed by those soaking or wading. Also, damming or altering the natural presence of any thermal features is prohibited. Do not put rocks, sticks or any other objects into thermal features.
<-Previous
"}; var moreHotpools = []; moreHotpools[0]={redirect:"Hotpools in Yellowstone (pg.2 of 2):
", Text:"For your safety and for the protection of thermal features in Yellowstone, it is illegal to swim, bathe or soak in any thermal spring or pool. Many springs and pools in Yellowstone are extremely hot, acidic or very alkaline; only a small number are neutral. The effects of some types of warm water bacteria and fungi, if swallowed or contracted through open cuts or the skin are not totally known. One type of organism is known to cause childhood meningitis.
Algae mats on the sides and bottoms of a pool could be destroyed by those soaking or wading.
Damming or altering the natural presence of any thermal features is prohibited. Do not put rocks, sticks or any other objects into thermal features.
<-Previous
<-Reload 'Landscape/Geology'
", redirect:"", Name:"Waterfalls in Yellowstone (pg.1 of 2):
", Text:"Fairy Falls:
These falls are located at the end of three mile hike through forest areas damaged by fire in 1988. The hike also gives a 'behind-the-basin' view of Grand Prismatic and the Midway Geyser Basin. The falls plummet 100+ feet oer the edge of a rhyolite cliff into a crystal clear pool at the bottom.
Mystic Falls:
These falls are located about a mile behind the 'Biscuit Basin' trailhead near 'Avoca Geyser'. The hike pleasantly forested with little change in grade. Geo-thermal features can be found on the tops and sides of the fall's cliffs.
Gibbon Falls:
Gibbon Falls are located a few miles north of the Madison Junction in Gibbon Canyon. There are several pull offs allowing you to see this particular site, but oftentimes are very crowded during peak visiting seasons.
<-Previous
Waterfalls in Yellowstone (pg.2 of 2):
", Text:"Wraith Falls:
Wraith Falls trailhead is a few miles east of Mammoth Hot Springs. There is a good possiblity that you will see wildlife while on the hike to the falls. The area was damaged by fires in 1988, causing the falls to be framed with the skeletons of dead trees. The falls are on Lava Creek and cascade down the side of a cliff.
Rustic Falls:
Rustic Falls are at the very entrance of the Golden Gate Canyon just a few miles south of Mammoth Hot Springs. In order to see them, you must pull off at the first turn out in the canyon and look back toward the mouth of the canyon. The geology and history of the canyon and area around the falls is amazing.
<-Previous
"}; var lakes = []; lakes[0]={pic:"
", redirect:"", Name:"Yellowstone Lake (pg.1 of 3):
", Text:"The largest of all the park's lakes is 'Yellowstone Lake', situated at an elevation of 7,733 feet, the lake is cold year-round, with an average temperature of 41°F. Yellowstone Lake covers 136 square miles and is 20 miles long by 14 miles wide. It has 110 miles of shoreline and at least 320 feet deep in the West Thumb area with average depths of 140 feet.
In 1826, a party of fur trappers that included Daniel Potts, Bill Sublette, and Jedidiah Smith called Yellowstone Lake 'Sublette Lake', and some historians credit Sublette with discovering the lake. Daniel Potts, one of the chroniclers of that 1826 trip, wrote to his family on July 8, 1827, and said that near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River is 'a large fresh water lake...on the very top of the mountain which is about one hundred by forty miles in diameter and as clear as crystal' (Yellowstone Park Research Library). Trapper Warren Ferris knew the name 'Yellow Stone Lake' by 1831, and he showed it on his map of 1836. By the 1860s, Yellowstone Lake was well-known among former fur trappers, army personnel, and other frequent western explorers.
Yellowstone Lake (pg.2 of 2):
", Text:"The 1871 Hayden Survey was the first to sail a boat, the Anna, on the waters of Yellowstone Lake, although some fur trappers or Indians may have floated rafts on the lake much earlier. Other early boats used to explore the lake were the Topping in 1874 (see Topping Point), a raft containing government surveyors in 1874, the Explorer in 1880 (see Explorer's Creek), a USGS boat destroyed by lightning in 1885, the Zillah in 1889, and the E.C. Waters (test runs only) in 1905.
Yellowstone Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the United States that is above 7,000 feet and is one of the largest such lakes in the world. Because of its size and depth and the area's prevailing winds, the lake can sometimes be whipped into a tempestuous inland ocean. During late summer, Yellowstone Lake becomes thermally stratified with each of several water layers having a different temperature. The topmost layer rarely exceeds 66°F, and the lower layers are much colder. Because of the extremely cold water, swimming is not recommended. Survival time is estimated to be only 20 to 30 minutes in water of this temperature.
<-Previous
", Name:"Yellowstone Lake (pg.3 of 3):
", Text:"The lake has the largest population of wild cutthroat trout in North America. How the Pacific Ocean cutthroat got trapped in a lake draining to the Atlantic Ocean puzzled experts for years. One theory is Yellowstone Lake once drained to the Pacific Ocean (via Outlet Canyon to Snake River) and that fish could pass across the Continental Divide at Two Ocean Pass. Lake trout, an illegally introduced, exotic species, is now found in Yellowstone Lake and threatens the existence of the native cutthroat trout.
<-Previous
"}; var geysers = [geysers]; var moreGeysers = [moreGeysers]; var hotpools = [hotpools]; var moreHotpools = [moreHotpools]; var waterfalls = [waterfalls]; var moreWaterfalls = [moreWaterfalls]; var lakes = [lakes]; var moreLakes = [moreLakes]; var moreLakes2 = [moreLakes2]; geysers[0].name="geysers"; moreGeysers[0].name="moreGeysers"; hotpools[0].name="hotpools"; moreHotpools[0].name="moreHotpools"; waterfalls[0].name="waterfalls"; moreWaterfalls[0].name="moreWaterfalls"; lakes[0].name="lakes"; moreLakes[0].name="moreLakes"; moreLakes2[0].name="moreLakes2"; var geology_db=[geysers, moreGeysers, hotpools, moreHotpools, waterfalls, moreWaterfalls, lakes, moreLakes, moreLakes2]; geology_db[0].name="geysers"; geology_db[1].name="moreGeysers"; geology_db[2].name="hotpools"; geology_db[3].name="moreHotpools"; geology_db[4].name="waterfalls"; geology_db[5].name="moreWaterfalls"; geology_db[6].name="lakes"; geology_db[7].name="moreLakes"; geology_db[8].name="moreLakes2";