I’ll
try to keep this short. But I can’t make any promises because Yellowstone was
my favourite part of the whole summer escapade. It was crazy inspiring and
awesome. For a while after I was actually looking into going back to school to
become a Park Ranger. And I was hard core excited about it all then it sunk in
what that would mean. 2 more years of being in university and getting grades
and all that I really dislike about school. I love learning but I hate tests.
So it’s still a possibility if my author career turns out to be less then
favourable.
Now
onto all things Yellowstone and fun. I had seen pictures and I knew a bit about
it but I didn’t realize it was so HUGE!!! It’s
8,983 square kilometers aka 3,468 square miles. (it is one of the largest, nearly intact
temperate-zone ecosystems on Earth) It really sank in how big it was
when we were driving between sites and it would take us a half hour to get
between places. But it was so gorgeous. And my friend Liam was driving so when
we saw something on the side of the road or whatever he would just whip the car
to the side of the road and bam perfect pictures.
Fun
Fact:: Prior
to the establishment of the National Park Service, the U.S. Army protected
Yellowstone between 1886 and 1918. Fort Yellowstone was established at Mammoth
Hot Springs for that purpose.
Up
for a bit of history? Well the human history of the Yellowstone region goes back
more than 11,000 years. From then until to the very recent past, many groups of
Native Americans used the park as their homes, hunting grounds, and
transportation routes. These traditional uses of Yellowstone lands continued
until a little over 200 years ago when the first people of European descent
found their way into the park. In 1872, a country that had not yet seen its
first centennial established Yellowstone as the first national park in the
world.
My
first encounter with thermal activity was one such whip it to the side of road
occasions.
It
smelled good in that rotten egg sulfury way. It’s strangely pleasant.
The vat of bubbling mud is a mix of heat, gasses, water, volcanic rock, minerals, acid and living microorganisms.
See
the white on the bottom of those trees. The
dead trees wick up mineral-rich water and when the water evaporates the whitish
minerals remain.
Next
stop the Midway Gyser Basin! I have to say this was one of the prettiest stops.
Why was it so pretty? Because of the colours!!! All the colours! The colours
are made by microbes. Different microbes have varying light requirements. As a
microbial mat grows, the microorganisms underneath don't receive as much
sunlight. Eventually they die and are replaced by species capable of surviving
in less light. There is a really cool
interactive gidget thingy at the bottom of the page here, that you can see the
different colours of the mat depending on the depth.
Next stop Old Faithful!! It’s a gyser. And did you know the more than 300 geysers in Yellowstone make
up over one half of all those found on earth. Old Faithful was named by members of the 1870 Washburn
Expedition, was once called “Eternity’s Timepiece” because of the regularity of
its eruptions. Eruptions
can shoot 3,700 to 8,400 US gallons (14,006 to 31,797.5 liters) of boiling
water. Shoots water at a height of 106 to 185 feet (32.3 to 56.4 meters).
How does this Old Faithful work? Well shall we chat about hydrothermals?
Yellowstone's hydrothermal features
would not exist without the underlying magma body that releases heat. They also
depend on sources of water that percolates through layers of permeable rock
riddled with cracks. Some of this cold water meets hot brine directly heated by
the shallow magma body. The water's temperature rises well above the boiling
point but the water remains in a liquid state due to the great pressure and
weight of the overlying water. The result is superheated water with temperatures
exceeding 400°F. The superheated
water is less dense than the colder, heavier water sinking around it. This
creates convection currents that allow the lighter, more buoyant, superheated
water to begin its journey back to the surface following the cracks and weak
areas through rhyolitic lava flows. This upward path is the natural
"plumbing" system of the park's hydrothermal features. And it’s
via this plumbing that you get the geysers and their pretty explosions!
So we were lucky because the next predicted eruption was only a
15 minute wait. We looked about a bit then we got a front row seat for the
eruption and we waited…
and waited…
and it fizzed…
and
I was joking that maybe it was the day that Old Faithful wouldn’t erupt then
bam!
It
was worth the wait! I thought it was lovely.
We
also walked around the very historic Old Faithful Inn. It was built during
the winter of 1903-04, the Old Faithful Inn was designed by Robert C. Reamer,
who wanted the asymmetry of the building to reflect the chaos of nature. The
Old Faithful Inn is one of the few remaining log hotels in the United States.
Then we hopped back into the car for a bit and hopped out at the
Continental Divide!! Why am I so excited about this? Well it’s just one of
those things that you learn about in school for ever and ever and you just
think it’s some mystical thing that you’ll never see.
But I saw it! Incase you’ve been out of school for a bit and
forgot the continental divide is where the watersheds separate. One side goes
to the Atlantic Ocean and the other to the Pacific!
We then did some more driving...
And ended up on the shore of
Yellowstone Lake! With a surface area of
132 square miles (342 square kilometers) it’s the largest lake at high
elevation (i.e., more than 7,000 ft. aka 2133.6 meters) in North America. It is
a natural lake, situated at 7,733 ft. (2,357 meters) above sea level. It is
frozen nearly half the year. It freezes in late December or early January and
thaws in late May or early June. Recent
research has revolutionized the way we look at Yellowstone Lake. What would be
found on the bottom is similar to what is found on land in Yellowstone;
geysers, hot springs, and deep canyons. With a small submersible robot,
researchers found a canyon just east of Stevenson Island which was 390 ft. (118.88
meters) deep. The hottest spot in the lake was found at Mary Bay where the
temperature was recorded at 252° F (122° C).
In short the Lake is massive and a pretty cool place. And
obviously quite photogenic. Plus there was a little hot pot and I got really
close to it….
And I may or may not have put my hand in it. And yes it was
boiling temperature.
Our last stop of the day was the Upper Falls. But we hit some
traffic on the way there because there were bison crossing the road!
The Park Rangers were there directing traffic and making sure
everyone stayed the proper distance from the bison.
After the Upper Falls it was time to head home. We were driving
straight through to Salt Lake. Liam and I split the 4 hour and 45 minute drive.
And that was Yellowstone. Incase you picked up on the bold type
that is info I took right from the park service site.
Lastly can we all appreciate this sign and how it informs us to watch out for mama or papa elk and baby elks, or maybe a heard of elf, or perhaps that large elks can be shrunk into midget elks.
Cheers,
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