Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
haps via underground flow. South Twin Lake is fed by creeks and is much less acidic (pH 5.9).
The northern lake is about 20 feet (6 m) higher than the southern one.
The Twin Lakes Problem
Various authorities have puzzled over and disagreed about which way Twin Lakes drain.
The 1986 U.S.G.S. topographical map shows no inlet or outlet for North Twin Lake and
only a south-flowing outlet for South Twin Lake.
One fact about drainage here has been established, however. This general area marks
the
drainage divide.
North Twin Lake may have an underground outlet, which probably
flows into the Gardner and Yellowstone Rivers. South Twin Lake and the creeks that rise
to its south and east flow to the Gibbon and Madison Rivers.
17.5/3.5 Bijah Spring
is a large hot spring west of the road. Parking is restricted to a wide
area slightly north of it. No one has been able to decipher the spring's name, used since the
1880s, although it might be a corruption of
bijou,
“jewel” in French.
18.2/2.8 Nymph Lake
was named in 1931 for
Nymphaea,
the botanical family of water lilies.
Its water is too warm and acidic from nearby hot spring activity to support fish. It has deep
holes and contains a great variety of microorganisms and plankton. This area for the next 0.2
mile was historically called Roadside Springs. In 2003 a new group of steaming vents appeared
partway up the hill northwest of the lake.
18.4/2.6 Frying Pan Spring,
identified only by a parking space along the road and danger
warnings. The unusual action of the springs on both sides of the road, reminiscent of hot
grease sizzling in a pan, comes from rising gas bubbles passing through extremely porous and
permeable rock and shallow water. The water is acidic enough (pH about 1.0) to eat through
almost anything, but it's not extremely hot. There are other steaming springs and warm lakes
nearby; the decomposing geyserite all around indicates old thermal activity.
18.6/2.4 Hazel Lake,
named for its color by 1880s tour guide George Henderson.
19.4/1.6
Norris Geyser Basin Overlook to the south. The overlook provides a view of the
One Hundred Spring Plain, a thermal area at Norris Geyser Basin. You'll also see an extensive
area that was burned in the 1988 North Fork fire.
