Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rocky Mountain juniper tree
Many of the small evergreen trees along Mammoth Terrace Drive are Rocky Mountain ju-
nipers. According to dendrologist John King, some of Mammoth's junipers are 1,500 years
old, and one even dates from AD 300. Limber pine trees, their needles in sets of five, also grow
along the drive.
Two more features along this twisting road are worth your attention: White Elephant Back
Terrace and Angel Terrace.
White Elephant Back Terrace
is another fissure ridge, built up
over centuries by sporadic seepage from the springs at its top. Solution caves, that is, depres-
sions where runoff down the side has dissolved away the travertine, can be found along the
northwest side of the “elephant.” Here they're called
he Grottoes.
Angel Terrace
may have been named for its snowy whiteness or for the delicate microor-
ganisms that sometimes live around it. Healthy trees grow on top of the tallest gray section,
while dead trees provide witness to more recent activity. Elsewhere, the hot water and bacteria
have created travertine stalactites and (where active) areas of yellow, orange, and salmon col-
ors. High above and to the north of Angel,
Glen Springs
was active in 2012.
Features of historical interest on the Upper Terrace can now be seen only with a ranger.
They include the River Styx, a partially underground hot stream, and solution caves such as
the Stygian Caves or deep Devil's Kitchen, where tourists used to descend by ladder. They
were allowed to enter the cave until someone realized that the carbon dioxide that had killed
birds and small animals wasn't good for humans either! Enterprising Mammoth residents
even offered refreshments from a “Devil's Kitchenette” just above the cave.
A sharp curve to the right brings you back to the Grand Loop Road.
