Welcome to ImagesOfWildLife - Nature Photography by Mark & A.J. Serfass : National Parks : Yellowstone NPS - Wyoming

Images Of Wildlife - Nature Photography - Mark & A.J. Serfass

Yellowstone NPS - Wyoming Galleries

Waterfalls of Yellowstone :

Waterfalls of Yellowstone

Scenes of Yellowstone :

Scenes of Yellowstone

Upper Geyser Basin Thermals including Old Faithful :

Upper Geyser Basin Thermals including Old Faithful

Grand Geyser : Grand Geyser Group or Complex consists of three geysers: Vent Geyser on the left, Turban in the center and Grand on the right. Grand erupts on the average every 7 hours within a 3-hour window up to 200 feet last up to 12 minutes. Vent Geyser is usually has steamy eruptions and usually erupts along and afterwards Grand's eruption. Vent may begin erupting up to 75 feet and then subside to 20-40 feet. Most of the time it is hidden during Grand's eruption. Grand is a fountain geyser. Turban Geyser erupts every 20 minutes, lasts 5 minutes and may be 5-10 feet tall.

West Thumb Paint Pots and Pools : Located on Lake Yellowstone, West Thumb Basin is a concentration of paint pots, springs/pools/ and geysers. Paint pots have a temperature of 187-199.8F with dimensions of 30 feet diameter. They were originally names Mud Puffs by the 1878 Hayden Survey. Springs have a temperature of 172-193F depending on the spring. Geysers have temperatures up to 201F. Black Pool is 40x75 feet and was a temperature of 132F when it was black caused by the transparent blue water and the orange algae lining the pool. The pool had frequent boiling eruptions on August 15th, 1991, with water doming to 3 feet causing heavy runoff. The temperature increase killed the bacteria allowing Black Pool to now be blue.

West Thumb Paint Pots and Pools

Biscuit Basin within the Upper Geyser Basin :

Biscuit Basin within the Upper Geyser Basin

Mammoth Hot Springs - Lower Terraces : Mammoth Hot Springs is a large hot spring complex in the northwest corner of the park near Fort Yellowstone. Mammoth is a large hill of travertine created over thousands of years as hot water deposited calcium carbonate. Hot wat from Norris Geyser Basin travels underground via a fault line that runs through limestone which feeds Mammoth. Water is generally about 170F. Algea lives in the warm pools which tints the travertine shades of brown, orange, red and green. Elk, bison and other animals visit during winter taking advantage of the warm springs.

Mammoth Hot Springs - Lower Terraces

Mammoth Hot Springs - Upper Terrace Drive : Mammoth Hot Springs is a large hot spring complex in the northwest corner of the park near Fort Yellowstone. Mammoth is a large hill of travertine created over thousands of years as hot water deposited calcium carbonate. Hot wat from Norris Geyser Basin travels underground via a fault line that runs through limestone which feeds Mammoth. Water is generally about 170F. Algea lives in the warm pools which tints the travertine shades of brown, orange, red and green. Elk, bison and other animals visit during winter taking advantage of the warm springs.

Mammoth Hot Springs - Upper Terrace Drive

Mammoth Hot Springs - Elk at Fort Yellowstone :

Mammoth Hot Springs - Elk at Fort Yellowstone

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone : The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is approximately 10,000 years old, 20 miles long, 1,000 feet deep and about 2,500 feet wide. It is predominately made of Rhyolite, which appers to be painted with deep reds, oranges and coppers. These colors are the result of hydrothermal alteration. The rhyolite contains a variety of different iron compounds which exposed to the elements are oxidizing or 'rusting'. The yellows on the canyon are the result of iron present in the rock rather than sulfer. The canyon has an upper and lower falls.

Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Animals of Lamar Valley : Lamar Valley is located in the Northeast section of Yellowstone, east of Tower-Roosevelt. Bison nurse herds are found in the valley. That being said, wolves are also in the valley. Elk, osprey, bald eagles, antelope, moose, black bears and grizzlies also live hear.

Animals of Lamar Valley

Mud Volcano & Sulphur Caldron : Mud Volcano is very acidic with iron sulfide responsible for the dark-gray, blacker brown-colored water. Hydrogen sulfide produces the "rotten egg" smell common to the area. Sulfur Caldron has a high acifity of nearly pH 1.2, similar to citric acid. The water contains bacterium producing a yellow-colored spring which contrats to the other dark-gray or black, iron sulfide springs.

Mud Volcano & Sulphur Caldron

Norris Geyser Basin - Panos : Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park - Norris Geyser Basin, named after an early Yellow-stone Superintendent, may be the hottest geyser basin in Yellowstone. The Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C. made test wells in 1929 to determine subsurface temperatures. One test hole was abandoned at 265 feet when the temperature reached 401 °F and the steam pressure threatened to destroy the drilling rig.The stark, barren landscape of Porcelain Basin is the result of an acidic environment. Because of this hostile condition plants, algae and bacteria have difficulty in establishing themselves. Instead the basin derives its colors from mineral oxides, in spectrums of pink, red, orange (iron oxides) and yellow (sulfur and iron sulfates). The acidic water has also created changes in the formation of sinter deposited around vents. Silica deposits as tiny, sharp spines instead of thick, beaded deposits common in more alkaline basins.

Norris Geyser Basin - Panos

Norris Geyser Basin : Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park - Norris Geyser Basin, named after an early Yellow-stone Superintendent, may be the hottest geyser basin in Yellowstone. The Carnegie Institute of Washington, D.C. made test wells in 1929 to determine subsurface temperatures. One test hole was abandoned at 265 feet when the temperature reached 401 °F and the steam pressure threatened to destroy the drilling rig.The stark, barren landscape of Porcelain Basin is the result of an acidic environment. Because of this hostile condition plants, algae and bacteria have difficulty in establishing themselves. Instead the basin derives its colors from mineral oxides, in spectrums of pink, red, orange (iron oxides) and yellow (sulfur and iron sulfates). The acidic water has also created changes in the formation of sinter deposited around vents. Silica deposits as tiny, sharp spines instead of thick, beaded deposits common in more alkaline basins.

Norris Geyser Basin

Old Faithful Geyser - Eruption Squence : When you think of Yellowstone, the first site that you think of is Old Faithful. Eruptions currently occur every 90 minutes. Scientists have analyzed it for many years. For example, a direct relationship exists between the duration of Old Faithful's eruption and the length of the following interval. Short eruptions (around 2 minutes) lead to short intervals (about 65 minutes); long eruptions (4 minutes or so) lead to long intervals (about 94 minutes). During a short eruption, less water and heat are discharged; thus, they rebuild again in a short time. Longer eruptions mean more water and heat are discharged and they require more time to rebuild. Over time, the average interval between Old Faithful's eruptions has increased. The change is in part due to ongoing processes within its plumbing and from earthquakes.

Old Faithful Geyser - Eruption Squence

Black Sand Basin - Upper Geyser Basin : Black Sand Basin is an isolated group of the Upper Geyser Basin. It was originally named the Emerald Group by A.C. Peale in 1878. Around 1900, tourists began calling it Black Sand Basin because of the small fragments of black obsidian sand which cover portions of the basin. The basin contains a small collection of jewel-like geysers, and colorful hot springs. Emerald Pool is the most colorful and famous of these springs. It is a deep emerald green fringed by an outer ring of yellow and orange. Another colorful pool is Opalescent Pool. This recently formed pool inundated a stand of lodgepole pine, creating a stand of white skeletons amidst a rainbow-colored pool. An unusual geyser formed on the bank of Iron Creek. Cliff Geyser formed a rim or wall-like ridge of sinter around its crater from which it erupts 30 to 40 feet high.

Black Sand Basin - Upper Geyser Basin

Bears - West Yellowstone - Outside of Park :

Bears - West Yellowstone - Outside of Park

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