On our way to see “Old Faithful” we saw lots of bison roaming off the sides of the road. For weighing more than half a ton, bison can move surprisingly fast if defending themselves. All around the Park we saw lots of warnings to keep clear of these guys.
Our first stop took us to the West Thumb Geyser Basin Trail. This area is unique in that it is the largest geyser basin on the shores of Yellowstone Lake. The West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake was formed from a large volcanic explosion which occured about 150,000 years ago which resulted in a “caldera”, or a collapsed volcano. This caldera later filled with water created an extension of the Yellowstone Lake known as the West Thumb.
It sure doesn’t look it, but once upon a time Black Pool really was black! Actually not too long ago the pool’s lower water tempurature allowed heat-loving microorganisms to grow here which made the water appear to look black. In the summer of 1991 the tempurature rose and the pool even erupted, killing off all these organisms. Now Black Pool is a beautiful blue color as you see here.
Black Pool:
Abyss Pool:
Abyss Pool, with its brilliant emerald green color, descends 53 ft and is one of the deepest in the park!
The landscape surrounding the Geyser Basin Trail:
Here we are at “Old Faithful”! Old Faithful Geyser has never been either the largest or most regular of geysers-yet, it has been the most regular and frequent geyser that erupts to a height of more than 100 feet; the average time between eruptions ranges between about 66 and 80 minutes, although occasionally visitors must wait two hours between eruptions of Old Faithful.
Old Faithful before…
Old Faithful after…
Old Faithful Inn:
Excelsior Hot Spring at dusk:
