“We will face a delay near Roaring Mountain due to road maintenance,” our guide informed our tour group, “a portion of the asphalt has melted because of increased geothermal activity.” We were lucky; such geothermal activity usually leads to complete road closure. “This is normal. After all, the park we are in is actually a supervolcano,” our guide, who has a superb sense of humour, added nonchalantly, adjusting the volume of her mouthpiece. “Don’t worry! The last eruption was 640,000 years ago. So if it happens now, we will be the lucky ones witnessing it!”
The park in question is Yellowstone, or formally known as the Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park established in 1872. The bulk of its 8,983 square-kilometre area is in the US state of Wyoming , but it also spreads into the states of Montana and Idaho.
In April, geologists from the University of Utah discovered a reservoir of magma underneath the park – a reservoir so huge, the magma can fill Arizona’s famous Grand Canyon 11 times over. Volcanic activity triggers 2,000 to 3,000 small earthquakes per year, most hardly noticed by tourists like us. If the supervolcano erupts, the force will be a few thousand times greater than the one produced by the Mount St Helen’s eruption in the 1980’s.
A trip to Yellowstone was on our bucket list for a long time, not only for its geothermal wonders, but also for its rich landscape and wildlife. A picture I saw in my childhood also influenced our decision. It was that of Roaring Mountain captured by the legendary Ansel Adams in 1942.
Yellowstone is famed for its unmatched geothermal features, which include geysers, brilliantly coloured hot springs, travertine terraces, steaming fumaroles and bubbling mud pots. With more than 10,000 geothermal features, including a diverse collection of geysers, which account for two-thirds of all known geysers on earth, Yellowstone is truly a geothermal marvel, a place like no other.
We started our tour from West Yellowstone, a small town developed in Montana in 1908. Just minutes away from the west entrance of Yellowstone, the town’s sole purpose is to serve park visitors. There even used to be a passenger train connection for tourists. The line (Oregon Short Line) is no longer in existence, but the town hosts the closest airport to the park.
After a 21-hour flight from Dubai, excluding two layovers in Atlanta and Salt Lake City, my wife and me were pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome given to us by the West Yellowstone airport staff. We were lucky to be on the season’s first flight because commercially, the airport only operates from June to September. Everything in the vicinity of Yellowstone has a history. The Three Bear Lodge, where we gave our jet-lagged bodies a much-needed rest, was established in 1932. A fire destroyed it in 2008, but it was rebuilt superbly, using salvaged materials and wood for decor and room furniture.
We started our Yellowstone safari through the west entrance along the Madison river. Our first stop was Fountain Paint Pot area in the Lower Geyser Basin. Here you can see almost every thermal feature such as geysers, hot springs, mud pots and fumaroles. There are a few hundred of them in the Lower Geyser Basin. Stepping on the boardwalk, we noticed the Bacteria Mats, a vibrant area created by heat-resistant microbes like cyanobacteria. They appear in shades of orange, rust, or brown, according to the temperature. Bacteria and algae are mainly responsible for brightly coloured run-off channels.
The Fountain Paint Pot is an area of bubbling, colourful mud created by acidity in the steam dissolving the surface rock. The tinting of the mud in colours of pink and grey is derived from the original rock. The bubbling is a result of escaping steam and gases - mainly carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. The thickness of the mud depends on the water level; thicker bubbling mud creates unusual shapes and formations. You can hear the hiss and roar of a fumarole coming from the steam, a mix of carbon dioxide and a little hydrogen sulphide—rushing from the ground through a vent. The vent system reaches down into the hot rock mass. Another interesting spot is the Red Spouter, a feature created after the Hebgen Lake earthquake in 1959 that measured 7.1 on the Richter scale. It shows the behaviour of all four thermal features.
Our next stop was the Old Faithful, the world’s most famous and popular geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin. The average time between Old Faithful’s eruptions is around 90 minutes. Eruptions last a maximum of five minutes, with 14,000-32,000 litres of boiling water being ejected at a height of 100-190 feet. For its punctual and consistent performance, the Washburn expedition team named the geyser Old Faithful in 1870. Watching this natural wonder from the boardwalk felt like standing in front of a natural pressure cooker, whistle and all. Even better was viewing the eruptions from the Old Faithful Inn, the world’s largest log structure hotel built in1904.
It was now time to visit Roaring Mountain that had captivated me the moment I saw it in Ansel Adams’s picture as a child. It’s a barren hill slope dotted with fumaroles. Roaring Mountain gets its name because of the sound created by these fumaroles. It was once loud enough to be heard several kilometres away. Today, there are fewer fumaroles and there is more hissing that roaring, but it is still enough to remind you that the magma is just 2-3km below the surface in this part of the park.
Another unique geothermal attraction is the Mammoth Hot Spring where hot water ascends through the limestone mountain, creating travertine limestone terraces. The water spills over the colourfully striped minerva terraces to create the appearance of a gentle waterfall. Sometimes it will give you the feeling of a frozen fountain.
Yellowstone is famous not only for its geothermal activity, but also for its wildlife and breathtaking landscape. The park has numerous waterfalls, including the 308-foot Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River. It’s the grand canyon of the Yellowstone. Over thousands of years, the water from the hot springs and steam vents in the canyon walls has altered the chemistry of the volcanic rock, changing its colour to a magnificent yellow, red, white and pink. From an artist’s point of view, the falls and canyon are mind-blowing. This is the second most popular spot in the park after Old Faithful.
Another attraction is the 131-square-mile Yellowstone Lake, which in places is more than 400 feet deep. It is the largest high altitude lake in North America.
For wildlife, the best place in the park is Lamar Valley. Many people call it as America’s Serengeti. It is home to bears, wolves, elk, bison, pronghorn, eagles, and bighorn sheep. Bison are the largest land mammals in North America. You can find them almost everywhere in the park, but the best place is the Lamar or Hayden valley. Lamar valley is also the place for wolf watching as the animals were reintroduced in the park in 1995. Grizzly and black bears are often seen in this area. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t see wolves or bears during your visit; simply visit the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Centre in West Yellowstone for an enriching experience.
Hissing geysers, colourful mud pots, breathtaking waterfalls, snow-covered peak in mid-summer, lush valleys and mist on the horizon, the world’s first national park is truly a landscape of extremes.
@ Sankha and Chandrani
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