Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Geology
As a supervolcano sitting on one of the foremost hot spots on earth, Yellowstone hosts
some of the premier geothermal features found anywhere on the planet. These geysers, hot
springs and steam vents offer geologists and visitors a vivid peek into the center of our
world. From acidic soils to waterlogged valleys, the environment on this superheated plat-
eau shapes the lives of the plants and animals that call this park home and this has made it
one of the leading wildlife destinations in North America.
GEOLOGIC WONDERS
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Grand Prismatic Spring
The park's most beautiful geothermal feature.
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Grand Teton
Molten dikes, fault scarps and those peaks!
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Hebgen Lake
Ponder the awesome result of the 1959 earthquake.
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Mammoth Hot Springs
Graceful travertine terraces.
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Mud pots
Head to Mud Volcano south of Canyon; Artist Paint Pots south of Norris;
or Fountain Paint Pot in the Lower Geyser Basin.
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Norris Geyser Basin
The region's hottest geothermal area, featuring Echinus Gey-
ser, the park's largest acidic geyser.
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Obsidian Cliff
Dark volcanic glass from the interior of a cooled lava flow.
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Petrified forests
Hike up Specimen Ridge in Yellowstone or take the interpretive
walk at Tom Miner Basin in Paradise Valley.
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Calcite Springs
Hexagonal basalt columns near Tower Falls.
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Upper Geyser Basin
Old Faithful, Morning Glory Pool and other gems.
The Yellowstone Hot Spot
Stand in the park and you are perched atop a thin piece of crust floating over a huge
125-mile-deep plume of molten rock known as a hot spot. This buoyant molten rock,
heated by magma deep under the earth's crust, has risen through the upper mantle close to
the earth's surface.
