Over the years we’ve come to enjoy visiting the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada and soaking in the natural hot springs located near Bridgeport and Mammoth. There’s something primal and unfinished about land that is geothermally active; in the winter the hot springs are easy to find as the steam from their heated waters rise into the air.
With that in mind, imagine our joy at discovering the wide variety of hot springs and geysers located throughout Yellowstone National Park! Though these aren’t designed for a relaxing soak like the springs in northern California, they exhibit a colorful beauty that I’ve not seen elsewhere. And, unlike the eastern side, plumes of steam are visible even in the middle of summer. There are whole mountain sides with multiple steam holes and while simply driving along the road one would spot steam at seemingly random spots; like I said, unfinished land.
Below is a set of some of the more striking photos of hot springs taken during our recent visit to Yellowstone. The orange color is actually caused by cyanobacteria (occasionally known to marine aquarium owners); they thrive in the harsh conditions present at these springs. Readers familiar with Yellowstone will wonder about the Mammoth Hot Springs area of the park; not to worry, MHS will likely be the subject of a separate post.
As usual, click on any of the images to visit the Flickr photo set of Yellowstone Hot Springs.
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Amazing pictures as usual, Mike! I’m surprised at how much color from the hot springs you were able to capture; one would think such color (especially when produced from an aqueous solution) would elude the lens.