Today, I'm going to do a photo dump of some of the amazing hot springs from Yellowstone National Park in America. There must be hundreds if not thousand of them here. Some are just tiny cracks, others are massive, like the world third largest as you'll see in a minute. I have tons of photos, and here's just a small selection where I've managed to match to their correct name. That was quite a challenge to do!!
I thought I'd also try out the new poll function from PeakD to see how that works. When you get to the end of the post, why not vote for your favourite hot spring. I may even have a surprise for one voter later on 😉
So here we go....
Ear Spring
What a creative name, but I wonder why they didn't call it the Bean or the Kidney 😉. Actually, I'm more impressed with the overflow or whatever it's correct scientific name is, than the actual spring here. Different types of organism lives in different types of springs based on the temperature of the spring water. At Ear Spring, the water is over 92 centigrade. Not sure what lives here, but it's spectacular, that's for sure.
Blue Star Spring
Not quite a star shape, but maybe it was when it was first named. The geothermal features are living features constantly changing the landscape every day. Although it's lost its star shape, it's still a true star in my opinion.
Grand Prismatic Spring
The Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest spring in Yellowstone and the third largest on the world. It's 370ft at the widest point and 160ft deep. That's massive!! The only downside of such a massive hot spring is that you can only get the best view from higher up which involves a hike that I didn't do because but was so cold. And because it was so cold, as soon as the hot air rises from the spring, it creates a layer of steam on the surface. I must have came here three or four times during my stay at Yellowstone in the hope of catching a glimpse of this most popular spring, but sadly it just wasn't meant to be.
Double Pool
Not a lot or say about Double Pool. I included this ... just because I like it 😄
Heart Spring
What a very romantic name but you do need to stand at the correct position to see the heart shape. It took me a little while to find my heart here 💖
Cistern Spring
We normally think of bacteria as bad for us, but when visiting natural springs we love them because they're the badass who thrives in these boiling water conditions creating the amazing landscape.
Fountain Paint Pot
The Fountain Paint Pot is a mud pot. Imagine a massive bowl of boiling water bubbling on top of a stove, then you have some heat loving microorganisms called thermophiles inside that eats the gas, producing acid. The acid then breaks down the rocks creating a big bowl of mud and what you end up with is this lovely pot of Fountain Paint Pot. Don't you just love how nature works.
Sapphire Pool
The Sapphire Pool used to be a geyser until an earthquake in 1959 changed its plumbing system (yes, that's what they call the workings underground) and now it's a hot spring. Unlike the Ear Spring, the overflow here is dark green and is due to the different microorganisms present at this 71 centigrade water.
Emerald Spring
True to its name, the Emerald Spring has this beautiful emerald surface that is so clear one can see quite deep into it. It's very difficult to take a clear shot of the inside of the spring, especially being quite far away. But seeing with my own eyes was pure joy.
Green Dragon
Sometimes you get lucky. When you're at the spring at the right time you may get to see some action. Here at Green Dragon it suddenly released some pressure creating a layer of steam across the surface. This is one of the few springs that we can get quite near to but of course, no one in there right mind would ever step too near to the springs!!!
And here's all the Yellowstone hot springs I have for you today. Let me know which was your favourite one by voting in the poll below.
