Yellowstone, Redux – Castle Geyser Reflection

Castle Geyser Reflections © 2010 Bo Mackison

Castle Geyser is in the Old Faithful Complex of Yellowstone National Park, a half mile walk from the Old Faithful Inn. I say “walk” and not hike because the trail is paved for bikers and is wheelchair accessible. (2.4 miles worth of great scenery is accessible t0 all — I applaud the efforts of the National Park Service to make at least portions of the parks available to all who want to visit.)

Sounds busy, but on a mid-week day in October we nearly had the place to ourselves once we left Old Faithful’s crowds behind.

I thought Castle Geyser was quite lovely, but the dozen or so people I spoke with while I was gazing, enamored with this sinter cone, were quite peeved that this thermal formation wasn’t performing up to expectations. Seems Castle Geyser used to be one of the regular guys. It would erupt explosively every 13 hours, give or take a few minutes, spouting one hundred feet in the air, and then steam for 30 to 45 minutes. For its final act, it would emit what was described to me by another passerby as a “thrilling, contralto roar”.

I cannot verify any of those facts. Castle Geyser puffed prettily for me, steamy and hot, and dribbled bubbly water that overflowed the lip of the cone. But there was no massive eruption. No thrilling roar. Only evidence that something was amiss was the mysterious sign, hand-lettered by a park employee, saying, “Future eruptions–unreliable.”

As I was photographing this scene, several other shooters waved me on, telling me not to bother. Well, I quite liked this “unreliable” geyser, fashioned from geyserite parts, some that are a thousand years old. It did rather look like a medieval castle, partly under attack and in (unseen) flames, and its run-off provided a great reflection of a perfect October sky.

Maybe by now Castle Geyser has its internal plumbing fixed and it is once more spouting on schedule. Though I liked it fine the way it was.

Solitary Tree at Sunrise – Yellowstone National Park

Sunlit Tree at Black Sand Basin in Yellowstone

Solitary Tree at Sunrise © 2010 Bo Mackison

Early light from an autumn sunrise gave a magical quality to this tree in the Black Sand Basin in Yellowstone National Park. The mountainside in the background shows the new growth and the remnants of the destroyed lodgepole pines from the 1988 fire that affected nearly a third of the park.

Sunrise at Black Sand Basin, Yellowstone National Park

Viewing Black Sand Basin © 2010 Bo Mackison

Black Sand Basin is a rather isolated group of thermal features in the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park. There are several jewel colored pools and geysers in the area, but I had a hard time concentrating on the specific geysers because the earliest light from the sunrise hitting the steam in 40˚F weather had turned this area, already a Wonderland, into a gigantic, purplish-yellow kaleidoscope of almost unnatural, but dazzling color.

There were only two other visitors at this time of the day, but it was one of the highlights of my three days in Yellowstone. Later, when I watched Old Faithful–the big geyser draw in the park–amongst a noisy crowd of onlookers, I kept thinking I had already seen the real show — at sunrise in Black Sand Basin.

Back to Yellowstone – Paint Pots, Geysers and Fumaroles

So here we are back at the Fountain Paint Pot Basin in Yellowstone National Park after a brief foray into the Heartland. I don’t think I have ever taken as many photographs as I did at Yellowstone, but then I’ve never seen such a densely covered wonderland of steaming fumaroles, gurgling mud pools, and shooting geysers, all surrounded by autumn’s glorious color.  After we visited Yellowstone, we went to eight more National Parks and Monuments, including Zion and the Grand Canyon, so there are many more photographs of other wonders of nature coming soon to Seeded Earth.

I figure this is a good time, anyway, to show off the beauty in the National Parks in autumn, because autumn’s color in Wisconsin is taking it on the chin with today’s weather. By nightfall, much of our autumn color will be soggy and on the ground. So, here is more from Yellowstone and beyond.

Sliex Springs on the Fountain Paint Pot Loop in Yellowstone

Silex Spring © 2010 Bo Mackison

The Fountain Paint Pot Basin features several pools, a half dozen geysers, and the largest collection of “paint pots” in Yellowstone. A boardwalk makes observing these wonders not only convenient, but also safe. There are warning signs all over the park asking visitors not to leave the marked paths. Thermal areas are unstable and more than one person has suffered serious injuries when stepping on ground that collapses into a thermal feature.

Just by looking at the pools, it is hard to accurately judge their depths. Silex Spring is about 35 feet by 40 feet on the surface. The hot springs are so clear is some places, it seems as if they are only a few feet deep — misleading. Its deepest area is over 27 feet. The name “Silex” probably refers to the silica composition of the pool, though there are park historians that claim the pool was named after a gurgling coffee pot called the Silex.

Noisy Fumaroles © 2010 Bo Mackison

When the water table is high, geysers spout quite continuously in this bacteria laden pool. When less water is available, the pool is deep brown in color from a high bacteria count, and noisy fumaroles pop along the surface. A fumarole is a geyser that does not reach the surface of the earth, so it only emits hot steam and gases above ground.

Silica and clay form popping "paint pots" in Yellowstone National Park

Fountain Paint Pots © 2010 Bo Mackison

These fountain paint pots bubble on the surface. plop, plop, plop. See the recipe below which was provided on an information sign at the Paint Pots exhibit in Yellowstone.

Recipe for Mudpots © 2010 Bo Mackison

Canary Springs at Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park Hot Spring Terraces in Mammoth

Mammoth Terraces © 2010 Bo Mackison

The terraces in the Mammoth area of Yellowstone National Park descend like huge stair steps. Even the site of the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and the other town buildings are sitting on the top of a travertine terrace, one that is several thousand years old.

Located on the Main Terrace is Canary Springs, a part of which you see in the photograph. The brownish areas of the springs have microorganisms growing in the hot water and that causes the colors, often yellow, green, or reddish brown.