Park Features and Resources
Mammoth Hot Springs
A hot spring is a hot water pool. These pools can smell like rotten eggs!! The largest of these springs is Mammoth Hot Springs. Hot springs bring minerals to land. Over time these minerals harden and build up to form terraces and steps. They can grow to 3 feet in one year. The terraces look white but become colored by tiny organisms that live in the hot water pools. They can be yellow, orange or brown. When you come back to Mammoth Hot Springs it will look different than the time before. The water underground is hot and is always moving. It changes the look of Mammoth Hot Springs everyday!
Written By Amanda, Angie and Julia
Written By Amanda, Angie and Julia
Old Faithful and Hot Thermal Geyser Basins
Old Faithful is Yellowstone's most popular geyser. A geyser is a hole in the ground that shoots up steam or boiling hot water from under the ground. Old Faithful isn't the largest geyser, but it's the one that you are most likely to see because park rangers can predict when it will go off next. Old Faithful has been around for over 100 years! It shoots water about every 60 to 90 minutes and goes off about 17 times every day. Old Faithful was named in 1870 for its predictable performance. Right before the geyser erupts you will see little jets and squirts of water. The eruption can be 106 to 180 feet high! The water in the geyser is 204 degrees Fahrenheit. The steam has been measured above 350 degrees. That's as hot as your mom's oven!! The eruption last between 1 to 5 minutes. If you go to look at Old Faithful, you'll sit on the boardwalk about 300 feet from the geyser. WATCH OLD FAITHFUL erupt into the air...
Written By Andrew, Gianna, LaSean and Taylor
Written By Andrew, Gianna, LaSean and Taylor
Mudpots in Yellowstone are like hot springs but they are a pool of boiling, bubbling mud instead of water. The mud is usually white or grey. Sometimes it can have red or pink spots. When it has lots of colors in it, it is called a paint pot. It can smell like rotten eggs because of the sulphur inside of it! Yuck! Mudpot bubbling changes with the seasons and the weather. Fumaroles or steam vents are the the hottest thermal features in the park. They don't have a lot of water so it makes steam before it comes to the surface.
Written By Brianna, Brooke, Dylan V., and Kareem
Written By Brianna, Brooke, Dylan V., and Kareem
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone-American Falls
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is also called the American Falls. It was first explored in 1869. It is 20 miles long, 1200 feet deep and 4,000 feet wide in different places. There is a Lower Falls and an Upper Falls. The Lower Falls is up to 308 feet tall. 63,500 gallons of water flow over the Lower Falls. It is more than twice the size of Niagara Falls. It is the tallest waterfall in the park. The Upper Falls is smaller than the Lower Falls. The Upper Waterfalls drops 109 feet. In between the Upper and Lower Falls is Crystal Falls. There are many trails you can hike to see the falls close up.
Written By Eadie, Gunoo, Ian and Melissa
Written By Eadie, Gunoo, Ian and Melissa