The Fountain Paint Pots Trail in Yellowstone National Park leads by various hydrothermal features. Some of these have a lot of water (hot springs and geysers) while others (mudpots and fumaroles) do not.
Celestine Pool:
Bacteria Mat:
According to the National Park Service:
“Bacteria and other thermophiles(heat loving microorganisms) usually form the ribbons of color like you see here. The green, brown, and orange mats are cyanobacteria, which can live in waters as hot as 167 F (73 C). At this temperature they are usually yellow-green. They become orange, rust, or brown as the water cools. In cooler water other thermophiles may appear that will modify the colors even more. Color may also change due to stress, such as the intense sunlight of mid summer.”
Fountain Paint Pots:
According to the National Park Service:
“Fountain Paint Pot is one of many mudpots found in the park. In early summer the mudpots are thin and watery from abundant rain and snow. By late summer they are quite thick. The mud is composed of clay minerals and fine particles of silica. In this area the rock is rhyolite, which is composed primarily of quartz and feldspar. Acids in the steam and water break down the feldspar into a clay mineral called kaolinite.”
Fumarole:
According to the National Park Service:
“The hiss and roar of a fumarole comes from gases - steam, carbon dioxide, and a little hydrogen sulfide - rushing from the earth through the vent. Its channel system reaches down into the hot rock masses, but it contains very little water. When water contacts the hot rock, it flashes into steam. Its volume increases 1,500 times and drives the gases from the vent.”
Leather Pool:
Red Spouter:
Open Thread
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