7. MAMMOUTH HOT SPRINGS
Located in the northern reaches of the National Park, Mammoth Hot Springs are unique among Yellowstone’s thermal areas. Its beautiful travertine terraces are stunning! The are is largely formed from limestone which is a relatively soft type of rock, allowing the travertine formations to grow much faster than other sinter formations.
At Yellowstone each year, the rain and melted snow seep into the earth. Cold to begin with, the water is quickly warmed by heat radiating from a partially molten magma chamber deep underground, the remnant of a cataclysmic volcanic explosion that occurred 600,000 years ago.
After moving throughout this underwater “plumbing” system, the new hot water rises up through a system of small fissures. Here it also interacts with hot gases charged with carbon dioxide rising up from the magma chamber. As some of the carbon dioxides are dissolved in the hot water, a weak, carbonic acid solution is formed.
In the Mammoth area, the hot, acidic solution dissolves large quantities of limestone on its way up through the rock layers to the hot springs on the surface. Above ground and exposed to the air, some of the carbon dioxides escapes from the solution. Without it, the dissolved limestone can’t remain in the solution, so it reforms into a solid mineral. This white, chalky mineral is deposited as the travertine that forms the terraces.
Lower Terrace Boardwalk
You can access the lower boardwalk from the parking lot or Grand Loop Road.
Liberty Cap is among the best known of the Lower Terrace’s features. Rising 37 feet in the air, this hot spring cone was named in 1871 for its resemblance to the peaked caps worn during the French Revolution. The cone shape formed when the hot spring’s plumbing system had a continuous flow for perhaps hundreds of years. Over that time period, the internal pressure was high enough to push the water to a great height, allowing the mineral deposits to build up.
Minerva Spring is another favourite because of its wide range of colours and intricate travertine formations. Its activity though has ebbed and flowed since records were first kept about it in the 1890s. The feature was completely dry in the early 1900s but started flowing again by 1951.
This Post Has 0 Comments