I almost missed seeing West Thumb Geyser Basin. It was only on the drive out of the Park, as an afterthought, that we decided to stop by and see this thermally active area right on Yellowstone Lake. This part of Yellowstone turned out to be perhaps the most beautiful and interesting part of the Park because you have examples of all types of thermal features: hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, and mud pots in a easy walk set against the beauty of Yellowstone Lake.
Despite a wild fire that had just started towards the Eastern entrance of the Park, the sky was still clear and the one mile walk was beautiful:
First a quick word about Yellowstone Lake, the largest high elevation lake in North America. Despite the abundance of thermal features around the lake and even at the lake bottom, the lake is a frigid 45 degrees even in the summer, which means swimming, while allowed, is nearly impossible. Renting a fishing boat is a fun way to enjoy the lake and you have a good chance of catching a trout. You can keep all the Lake Trout you catch, but Cutthroat Trout, the native species, must be released because they are an endangered species.
These kayakers made such a serene scene enjoying their day right off the shore of West Thumb Geyser Basin.
The West Thumb Geyser Basin is actually a volcanic caldera inside of the larger caldera which encompasses Yellowstone National Park. The West Thumb Bay was created 150,000 years ago by a powerful volcano which caused the earth to collapse and fill with water.
The first stop is at Abyss Pool. This is one of the deeper hot springs in the entire Park. It is 53 feet deep and filled with hot water. The clear emerald color makes the pool look endless.
It's easy to see why this hot spring is called Collapsing Pool and you can see why it is so important to stay on the boardwalk. The crust of the earth is very brittle here.
Black Pool seemed misnamed until I found out that the pool was indeed, a deep black before the summer of 1991, when Black Pool erupted several times unexpectedly and the temperature permanently rose killing off all of the thick mats of brown thermophiles. You can see how the heat is rising off this pool.
Here is a close-up of "Black" pool. It's so crystal clear that you can see the bottom:
Ephedra Spring still has an almost black color. This spring changes color and water level throughout the year, depending on the temperature of the water and the activity of the other springs it is connected to.
This small pool is full of life. I love looking at the thermophiles and bacterial mats as well as all the plant life that thrives in this harsh environment:
A fumarole is a steam vent. The temperature is so hot that all the water boils away leaving only steam. Many fumaroles make a menacing hissing noise and the often smell of sulfur.
Mudpots are the stinkiest of all thermal features. The Paint Pots at West Thumb are no exception. Although this looks like ideal pottery material, you wouldn't want to touch a mudpot because it is full of sulfuric acid:
West Thumb even has a pair of twin geysers, which are currently dormant, but have erupted to a height of 120 feet in 1934. Now they just bubble and boil harmlessly:
The Seismograph Pool has an interesting story. In 1959, there was a 7.5 earthquake, and someone thought that this pool somehow registered the earthquake. Even though it probably can't do that, it is a beautiful, colorful pool.
Its neighbor, the Bluebell Pool, also has a pretty shape:
The Fishing Cone is right in the lake. In the pioneering days, fisherman would catch their fish in the lake, and the cook them right on this geyser in the boiling pool which is in the center of the cone. Of course, that is not allowed today, as thermal features are very dangerous and delicate:
Perforated Pool bubbles hot water right out of the earth and it drains into the Lake:
Blue Funnel Spring:
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Percolating Spring is constantly bubbling:
When you visit Yellowstone National Park, do not miss the opportunity to make a stop at West Thumb Geyser Basin at Yellowstone Lake. It is not a well-known or highly promoted destination, but it is certainly gorgeous and very interesting and can be seen in under one hour.
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Comments: 25
Love and hugs - S.
you make me feel like I'm almost there / tour and all!!!
Thanks Jenny!!! Your vacation to Yellowstone was a great experience for me,
though through photos and your tours...I was there!!! you know what I Mean...
Thanks, DW! The Black Pool was the best thing. It was super neat to stand there and one side was so hot from all that hot water and the other side was all cold from the wind off of the Lake. It looks like it would be fun to jump in the Black Pool since it is so clean, but the temperature is nearly boiling so that probably woudn't be a good idea.
Thanks, Andrew. I'm so glad we stopped by there at the last minute. It would have been a shame to miss that walk.
Thanks, Dan! It means a lot to hear from a Sioux Fallers.
Michele, go there! You won't forget it. It is SO worth the trip.
Thank you, Mike. I actually thought the Seismograph Pool was the prettiest too. It's small but it's right next to that Bluebell Pool and together they are so cute! They are a lot deeper too when you see them in real life than the photos show.
Thanks, Randee! Did you ever go to West Thumb when you were in Yellowstone? I am surprised that this area is not more clearly marked or promoted because it was every bit as good as the Old Faithful area and yet almost no one sees it.
Thank you, Larry.
My large Danish family had a huge reunion in Yellowstone some decades ago, right after that very big fire, and I fondly fell in love with the nature there. One time, when hiking along a razor sharp ridge at over 10,000 feet, my brother and I came upon the warm, still-streaming piles of excrement left by grizzlies. There were huge bear paw marks all around (the size nearly of two of my hands spread out), and we'd reached a flatter area with low pine trees, so it was freaky. Having likely just missed these bear, for there were more than one set of prints, we decided to start singing rather loudly, and making a slow retreat. We drove up to the ranger station and told them what we'd seen, and they immediately closed off that region of trails.
Another odd feeling about Yellowstone, that I often thought about while fishing in Yellowstone Lake, is that that entire lake and the mountains around, is actually one huge volcanic crater from long ago. A few years ago, a geologist noticed that at the bottom of Yellowstone lake, a bulge has already risen some 100 feet. I just searched on the Internet, after reading your article, but can't find that reference. I have also read of geologists who have studied the periodicity of the giant cauldron's repeated explosions over geologic time, and that we are at that threshold again. That blast would actually leave volcanic ash even in Washington DC.
Well, if people are in Yellowstone when and if this were to repeat itself, they'd certainly be a lot luckier than the folks even a 100 miles away.
I was thinking about the volcanic issue when I was there too - especially when I read about how certain geysers erupted spontaenously in various recent times and then changed the surrounding area. Yellowstone is just so active and constantly changing that it is really the world's best place to go and learn about geology.
The volcano that created Yellowstone covered the entire northwest part of the United States and some of Canada in about one minute so that kind of power is almost impossible for us to comprehend.
Did you catch any fish in Yellowstone Lake? My son caught a very large Cutthroat Trout but he returned it to the Lake as is required. It was such a beautiful fish.
You can still see so many reminants of the big fire from 1988. They leave all the fallen trees because that is the best source of fertilizer for that very barren landscape.
I am so glad that you shared your memories with me.
I am both ashamed of that to this day, being that I have taught environmental science to kids, and very grateful for the opportunity to taste the fruit of Yellowstone Lake. The smaller cutthroats I caught in the streams around Yellowstone I would not think once about taking out of there.
There is a large river that flows into Yellowstone (is it Yellowstone River? It flows north to south, if I remember). Anyways, my brother and I were hiking some of the dangerous cliff trails along there earlier in the week, and we came upon a huge, half eaten elk carcass (I think it was an elk) at the bottom of a crevice.
Yes, the bear thing was freaky at times, even when sleeping at night in my tent, since I prefer that to the camper we rented along with the cars. But we never actually saw one. I have had interesting experiences with black bear on the east coast along Skyline Drive, but as you write, that's a very different animal. The only animal to cause us any real problem while we were in Yellowstone was a bison. It loped out in front of us while I was driving the big camper, and almost did not see it since it had just turned dark. That thing would have caused one major accident. Listening to the wolves at night inside the thin fabric of my tent did not evoke even a hint of fear in me... that was an exquisite sound.
Anyways, I don't want to take the thunder away from your experiences and article here. You have written a beautiful article and have shared photos worthy of a park store's postcard selection.
Funny that you mention the elk carcus on your river hike, because we saw a similar sight in Hayden Valley. Crowds would gather in the evenings with binoculars and high-powered zoom lenses to watch an some kind of carcus because one evening there was a huge bear fight that caused quite a stir in the park. They say that the most dangerous time to see a bear is when it is with its cubs or it is protecting a carcus. I did get a photo of a Grizzly bear and her cub, but it was from such a great distance that they look almost like two brownish dots. My parents saw several Grizzly bears earlier in the year. In fact, one named Goldie lived in their RV Park near the Lake Hotel. The rangers had it moved to a more suitable location near Roosevelt in an off-limits area to visitors, but within a week, it had hiked the 50 + miles back to the RV campsite.
I'm sure that bison are the number one cause of visitor injuries in the Park. Those guys are truly dangerous, especially in August during the mating season. The males are just so massive. I was reading tonight that every year more than 50 large animals die in Yellowstone from traffic accidents. Running into a bison would be like hitting a solid wall, I'm sure.
I didn't see any wolves on this trip, but I did on my trip in May, 2001. Wolves are one of the most fantastic creature on earth. My parents saw wolf cubs in Hayden Valley near Antler Creek earlier this year - they both are spending the summer working in Yellowstone - that was why we visited.
I am so glad that we met and had this chance to remember Yellowstone together. It always amazes me how many Europeans I meet in our National Parks.
Denny, go there! You really should. It's even way better than these pictures can show. The Park has everything you could possibly want to see in one location.
Melinda, Yellowstone is cool because it makes you have such vivid memories that you can remember everything when you see a photo. The first time I was in Yellowstone was when I was a kid in the 1970s and when my dad was telling me stories about things we did at various places we saw again this August, I remembered so clearly. And I don't think I remember any other vacation I took as a young kid.
Thank you, Ron! It's so cool that you grew up in that area and probably know it like the back of your hand. I'm just trying to think how I can return to see it again soon.
Thank you so much, Nancy. I've seen a lot of National Parks, but this one is truly the very best. It is not over-rated in any way.
Thank you, William! It is certainly a beautiful place to visit. I hope I can go back again soon and see it in a different season.