Day 24 – Yellowstone and Everchanging Geology

On a partly cloudy day we dropped into the valley of Yellowstone National Park. A storm of the previous night had left a blanket of new snow on the highest peaks surrounding Yellowstone Lake. We had forgotten how large the lake is, but that quickly came back to us as we drove around it to the West Thumb geyser basin on the southwest shoreline.

It had been about 24 years since our previous visit to Yellowstone in 1999. Prior to that trip we had gone through the park in 1982. And I also have vague memories from when my family went on a vacation to Yellowstone in 1965. 

As a 5-year old, I remember the colorful mammoth hot springs, sleeping in a cabin (we usually tented), and bears wandering through the camp including walking up to the car. However, those memories are still very clear after all these years. 

The exciting and memorable features of Yellowstone are the result of plate tectonics and the thermal vents that have worked their way up into the caldera of an enormous volcano. There have been observable changes over the past fifty plus years, which geologically speaking is actually very fast. Some of the changes we have seen is that there appear to be fewer actual geysers. Also, the color of some hot springs seems to be different now.

The color change would make sense because the colors come from the algae and bacteria that grow in the hot water. The types of life that survive in these pools are sensitive to changes in the temperature. So, as the thermal vents move under the caldera, the temperatures in the hot springs change. In turn, that leads to a change in the color of the various pools. However, whatever the color, looking into the depths of the hot springs can be mesmerizing.

 During our visit in 1982, we were listening to one of the “Ranger Talks” at the Norris Geyser Basin. All of a sudden, in the middle of her talk, the ranger paused what she was saying… then she started yelling and took off at a dead run down one of the boardwalks! Well, those of us listening to the presentation were perplexed and were wondering what was going on. We ended up following the direction the ranger had disappeared in to see what had happened.

After about a quarter of a mile, we saw more and more people heading in the direction we were going. And soon we heard a roaring sound and could see water shooting above the treetops! As it turned out, the Steamboat Geyser was erupting which hadn’t happened for decades. The water was gushing hundreds of feet into the air and the steam was drifting across the basin. How exciting to be able to witness that. Since that time, the Steamboat Geyser has been erupting more and more frequently. This too is likely to be the result of the shifting plates.

One unpleasant result of the geyser’s steam was apparent when we returned to our car. The windshield was already pitted from the slightly acidic steam. That was an interesting insurance report to submit, “…windshield damaged from hot geyser steam…”

This year, the Steamboat Geyser was steaming and bubbling away, but no spectacular eruption. 

As much as we enjoyed exploring Yellowstone National Park in the past, it has gotten waaaaay too crowded for us to stay for long. We had thought that visiting after Labor Day, the crowds would be tolerable. Nope, the crowds milling around the Old Faithful parking area were astounding! Then we found out that the next predicted eruption of Old Faithful was several hours later. That, along with the crowds, the rain, and the hail with temperatures in the low 40’s didn’t encourage us to stay longer.  So, we went to our favorite spots and evaded as many other travelers as possible before heading on.

Our decision to head west that evening turned out to be a good choice. We saw that a snowstorm hit Yellowstone and its surrounding mountains the day after we left!

Now, we were truly homeward bound...