USA, Wyoming: Yellowstone Show Off New Geothermal Features

A Place of Change -- The new spring at Mammoth, in context (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

Yellowstone National Park geologist Hank Heasler measures the
temperature of water bubbling out of a new thermal feature on Upper
Terrace Drive at Mammoth Hot Springs. The water measured 155
degrees Fahrenheit. (Michael Wright/Chronicle)

Last April, Yellowstone National Park officials noticed a new spring on Upper Terrace Drive near a popular parking lot that overlooks a white and gray travertine plateau sloping down to the traffic jam in Mammoth, Wyoming.

Hot water bubbled from the spring, or vent, as park geologists call them. Calcium carbonate deposits and microbial activity introduced by the water reshaped and recolored a small mound. A berm was built to keep the water off the pavement. In the summer, the park planned to build a more permanent solution.

It wasn’t strange. Springs at Mammoth are always changing. Vents start and stop at will. Visitors see different versions of the terraces every year. That’s nothing new, and no, a new spring doesn’t mean the Yellowstone volcano is going to erupt any time soon. But this particular vent might be a little more complicated.

The GRC ran a Field trip/Workshop to Yellowstone National Park earlier this year. Four more field trips are on offer from this year's GRC Annual Meeting, September 20-23 at the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino, Reno, Nevada.

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