Yellowstone in Winter - Part 12 - Thermal Areas

Saturday, 27 January 2018

In the afternoon we traveled by snow coach from Old Faithful back up to Mammoth Hot Springs. Along the way we made stops at Midway Geyser Basin and Fountain Paint Pot.

The boardwalk around Midway Geyser Basin was particularly treacherous: it was very icy and a 20-30 mph wind was blowing steam and spray everywhere. This is a photo of the Excelsior Geyser Crater Wall. Steam made it almost impossible to see the Excelsior Pool.

The edge of Grand Prismatic Spring. This large pool is best viewed from above, but that trail is quite challenging in the winter, so we stayed with the boardwalk.

The edge of Grand Prismatic Spring is easily (and permanently) damaged. The photo above shows bison and wolf prints that have been preserved in the sinter.

More wolf tracks at Grand Prismatic Spring. It's difficult to tell if the top track is wolf cub or coyote.

Turquoise Spring in Midway Geyser Basin.

A raven in a tree in the parking area at Fountain Paint Pot. The ravens in Yellowstone have learned how to open zippers and latches to get at unattended food, especially in open vehicles such as motorcycles and snowmobiles.

"Bobby socks" trees are found throughout the geyser basins, but were particularly prominent at Fountain Paint Pot. These lodgepole pines were killed by encroaching hot water, and capillary action brought silica-laden water up into the wood, essentially turning the bottom part of the tree into rock.

Silex Spring at Fountain Paint Pot.

The edge of Silex Spring reminded me of shelf fungi, especially "hemlock varnish shelf" (Ganoderma tsugae -- see photo below).

Hemlock Varnish Shelf fungus in Laurel Fork, Highland County, Virginia.

At this time of year, plentiful water makes Red Spouter shoot red mud into the air. The red color comes from arsenic minerals in the water.

The cone of Jet Geyser in the small geyser basin at Fountain Paint Pot. Jet was erupting every 5-10 minutes.

When Jet Geyser erupts every few minutes (above), Fountain Geyser on the other side of the boardwalk (i.e. behind me) may erupt soon. We waited for about 45 minutes, but nothing happened.