Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sinter.
See
hydrous silicon dioxide.
snag.
Standing, dead, and often limbless trees left after an intense fire or drowned by flooding.
solfatara.
An area with many
fumaroles.
The word comes from the first known solfatara near Naples,
Italy, where a volcanic crater exhales
hydrogen sulfide,
sulfur dioxide, and steam.
steam explosion.
See
explosion crater.
superheated.
Existing at a temperature above the boiling point.
talus.
A steep slope made of loose rock debris eroded from a cliff, or the rock debris itself. Also called
scree.
tephra.
Any material, regardless of size, shape, or origin, ejected during an explosive volcanic eruption.
terracette.
A semicircular formation of
travertine
built up at the edge of a gradually rising
hot spring
pool, as at Mammoth Hot Springs.
thermal area.
See
hydrothermal area.
thermophilic.
Thriving in extremely hot water.
till.
A mixture of debris of all sizes from clay to boulders, left by glacial ice.
timberline.
The upper limit at which fully erect trees grow; the number varies with latitude.
travertine. Limestone (calcium carbonate)
precipitated from
hot spring
waters.
tree line.
Term used by botanists to mean the upper limit of growth for all trees.
tuff
Hardened
tephra
that has fallen to earth after a volcanic explosion. Bottom layers of tuff become
welded into dense rock due to heat and pressure.
valley shape.
In earth science, U-shapes are created by the scraping and scooping-out action of glacial
ice; V-shapes are eroded through rock by rivers.
wapiti.
Meaning white rump in the Shawnee language, this has become another word for elk.
Yellowstone hot spot.
The center of volcanic activity that has progressed in a northeasterly direction for
17 million years from near where the corner of Oregon and Idaho meets the Nevada border.