NORTHWESTERN SECTION - Yellowstone Treasures - page 54

deposits build fantastic formations, such as those of Castle and Grotto Geysers at Upper
Geyser Basin.
For information about microbes that live in very acidic water, see page 175 .

Continuing on the Grand Loop Road 8.2/8.8 Fountain Paint Pot. Closest park-

ing area entrance for those heading north.

9.0/8.0 White Creek crossing; Firehole Lake Drive begins. This side road runs one way south
to north.

Firehole Lake Drive*
NOTE: The mileage from the beginning of this side road is given in parentheses. Grand Loop Road
mileage continues on page 63 where Firehole Lake Drive rejoins it.

All thermal features are accessible

along this drive.
(0.0) The dead pines standing in this marshy area have white “socks,” a result of absorbing
silica from the hot spring runoff water surrounding their roots. Mature lodgepoles here were
killed by thermal runoff dammed up by new road construction in the 1960s. Trees killed in
this way may stand for decades.
(0.65) Broken Egg Spring resembles an upturned egg with the shell broken off.
(0.8) Firehole Spring is actually a perpetual spouter rather than a spring. In 1888, George
L. Henderson, a tour guide and the namer of many Yellowstone features, wrote: “Every few
seconds there arise great globes that seem to revolve like chariot wheels as they rise toward
the surface. Then they come faster and faster until they seem to glide into each other and rise
into one magnificent dome of liquid splendor….” The runoff channels are lined with some of
the park's most beautiful, many-colored bacteria (see picture, page 66 ).
When you look northward, the beautiful mountain you see in the distance is 10,336-foot
(3,150 m) Mount Holmes. William H. Holmes (1846-1933) was an artist and geologist who
climbed this mountain as a member of the 1878 Hayden Geological Survey, a government-
sponsored expedition. In his later years, Holmes was most noted for his work in American
archaeology.
(0.9) Surprise Pool is a deep black—not blue—pool (for the reason, see “Black Water and
Travertine,” page 63 ) . An 1895 observer wrote, “If a handful of gravel is thrown into it, it will
bubble and sparkle, exactly like bromo seltzer.” The modern visitor would substitute “Alka-