June 17, 2011

Yellowstone, Other-wordly

A view of the run-off from one of the hot springs, depositing brightly colored mineral and bacterial deposits on its way to the river. Note the snow-capped mountains in the distance.



Bright turquoise bacteria like it very hot -- 200F+ which is boiling at Yellowstone's altitudes in the 5000-6000 ft. range.



When the pressure builds, the geysers go. Search for videos of old faithful and boiling mud pots if you'd like to see some spectacular sights.



We saw tons of these. I assumed they must be baby meese. Brother informed me that they were Elk cows. Makes sense. I just wonder where all the boys were, we didn't see a single Elk rack.



The colors indicate temperature. If you had to choose your adventure, go for the red, as blue and turquoise are the hottest...



Bison, Bison everywhere. Zoom in for a look at the bison beh-behs. (Note the steaming thermal features in the background and the fact that it's snowing on May 30th).



And, of course, no trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a visit to Grand Prismatic Spring -- Too huge and brightly colored to believe without walking the path around it.

3 comments:

A said...

great pictures! esp love the colors in the last one.

Arvay said...

Behbeh bison! Behbeh bison! Behbeh bison! :)

Biting Tongue said...

A: thanks. Yes, the colors are impossible to believe. The steam isn't actually colored, it's just the reflection from the pool below it.

Arvay: I figured you might like that one...