Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to the Albright visitor center and the limestone terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs, perhaps
the eeriest and most hauntingly beautiful of Yellowstone's year-round thermal the-atrics.
Formedofcalcium carbonate that hasbeenleached fromlimestone beneath theearth'ssur-
face and deposited above as a glowing white travertine, the springs take their delicate col-
ors from the algae and bacteria that thrive in the steamy water. Among the most active of
the terraces—some of which grow by as much as eight inches a year—are Opal Terrace,
which each year takes another bite out of the sloping lawn of the nearby housing area, and
regal, multihued Minerva Terrace. For a panoramic view of a half-dozen other springs and
their colored pools, follow the one-way loop called Upper Terrace Drive. After rejoining
themainroad,therouteswingssouth,skirtingsootyBunsenPeakandthestarkblackbasalt
pillars of Sheepeater Cliffs.
2.
Obsidian Cliff
The land along this stretch of road and many others throughout Yellowstone was badly
scorched by the fires that raged here in 1988. One highlight of this otherwise forbidding
landscapeistheglitteringblackfaceofObsidianCliff,formedbytherare,high-speedcool-
ing of a lava eruption thousands of years ago. Indians used the obsidian for arrowheads,
which have been discovered as far away as Ohio.
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