Part 3 - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

The Lower Geyser Basin

(all photos will enlarge when clicked on)

When my husband and I entered Yellowstone National Park, on our third and final day, we spent the majority of the third day in what we thought was the most fascinating and interesting areas of the park --the Lower Geyser basin, the Upper Geyser Basin, the Black Sand Basin and the Biscuit Basins. The photo above is the view of the lower geyser basin that we saw from the road in the early morning light. The steam was rising off the hot pools and geysers reminding us that we were on top of a caldera. A caldera is formed from explosive super eruptions and it can be as wide and deep as mid- to large-sized lakes, and can be responsible for destroying broad swaths of mountain ranges. It is literally the top of a volcano. Some very interesting geological videos about the caldera area of Yellowstone can be seen at this link. Two thirds of the geysers in the world are located in Yellowstone National Park, which also contains the largest geothermal phenomena in the world!

Anxious to see the famous Old Faithful Geyser, which is the most photographed feature in the park, we drove over to the Upper Geyser Basin. A historic White Motor Company Yellowstone tour bus can be seen in the photo above, in front of the Old Faithful Inn. A Youtube video about the buses can be seen at this link.


The beautiful Old Faithful Inn was built in 1903-04 and designed by R. C. Reamer. Wings were added to the hotel in 1915 and 1927, and today there are 327 rooms available to guests in this National Historic Landmark

The lobby of the hotel features a 65-foot ceiling, a massive lava stone fireplace, and railings made of contorted lodgepole pine. It really is a sight to see!

The spectacular Old Faithful Inn is within short viewing distance of Old Faithful Geyser

Information about Old Faithful Geyser

Old faithful erupts more frequently than any of the big geysers, although it is not the biggest or most regular geyser in the park. As of now it erupts about every 90 minutes.

It attracts a large crowd of spectators! Everyone gathers and waits around the geyser as it gets close to the predicted eruption.

And there it is! Old faithful Geyser was named in 1870 by a surveyor H.D. Washburn. Its eruption height varies from 106 to 184 feet, every 90 minutes. The temperature before eruption is 240 degrees Fahrenheit, and during eruption between 3,700 to 8, 400 gallons of water are discharged.

The geyser basins have boardwalk paths to allow for safe and easy viewing.

I'd like to show you just a few of the many geysers, springs, pools and fumarole hydrothermal features in Yellowstone.

The Grand Geyser

The Grand Geyser is the tallest predictable geyser in the world, erupting every 7- 15 hours. An average eruption lasts 9 -12 minutes and it can reach 200 feet in height!

The Riverside Geyser, by the Firehole River

The Riverside Geyser erupts at seven hour intervals to a height of 75 feet, for a 20 minute duration.

The Castle Geyser

The Castle Geyser is attracts a crowd because of its energy that erupts steam with a roars like a train. Erupting every 11-13 hours, Castle shoots water 70-80 feet into the air from its over 30 feet tall cone.

The Morning Glory Pool

The Morning Glory Pool is one of the more popular springs in the Upper Basin. The pool was named for the morning glory flower because of its brilliance.

The Sapphire Pool. Biscuit Basin

Three miles north of Old Faithful is Biscuit Basin, named for the unusual biscuit-like deposits formerly surrounding Sapphire Pool. Following the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake, Sapphire erupted, and the "biscuits" were blown away.

Grand Prismatic Spring, Midway Geyser Basin

The Grand Prismatic is the largest hot spring in Yellowstone, and is considered to be the third largest in the world-New Zealand has the two largest springs. The Hayden Expedition in 1871 named this spring because of its beautiful coloration.

Excelsior Geyser, Midway Geyser Basin

Excelsior was once the largest geyser in the world. However, the last known major eruptions occurred during the 1880's, when there were numerous eruptions up to 300 feet. Those eruptions may have burned out its core and Excelsior is now a productive thermal spring, presently discharging 4050 gallons per minute. Numerous vents boil and churn the water within the crater, covering it in a dense layer of steam.

White Dome Geyser, Lower Basin

The White Dome geyser's 12-foot-high cone is one of the largest in the park. Its eruptions are unpredictable, but generally occur with intervals ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours with intervals between 20 and 35 minutes. Eruptions typically last 2 to 3 minutes and reach heights of about 30 feet.

The Fishing Cone, West Thumb Geyser Basin

This is one of the most famous hydrothermal formations in the West Thumb Lake. The name Fishing Cone can be traced back to tales told by mountain men of a lake where you could catch a fish from the lake then immediately dunk it into hot spring and cook it on the hook. Fishing is now prohibited.

I am linking this post to Beverly at How Sweet The Sound blog's Pink Saturday event, and up to now everyone must have been wondering what was the pink in this post?
I found this pretty pink Yellowstone souvenir merchandise at the Grant Village store next to the East Thumb Lake. I immediately thought of Beverly when I saw this grouping! Thanks, Beverly, for always making me look for pink in the world!

I was also lucky to come across this majestic male elk as we headed back to our hotel for the evening. He was leading his family down to the river for an evening drink.

Elk are the most abundant of the large mammals of Yellowstone National Park.

The male uses his massive antler to fight other males during the mating season. It falls off annually in the late winter or early spring and then he grows a new set.

As the sun set we sadly said goodbye to Yellowstone National Park, as our time here was over.

It is such a beautiful and enormous park that we know we saw just a small portion of it and we hope to return again to see more someday. It is truly one of our country's special treasures.

I am looking forward to viewing the first segment of the Ken Burns special on PBS this weekend called "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," which will air September 27 through October 2 --- check your local stations for your viewing area's time.

My Yellowstone National Parks posts Part One can be found here --- Part Two here