Monday, May 10, 2021

Yellowstone National Park, WY

TOTAL MILES TRAVELED: 9,388

After school and work today, Grant, Jack and I went back to the park to check out Mammoth Hot Springs.

It was an amazing experience because we got caught in a snow storm and the park looked like a winter wonderland.

Mammoth Hot Springs are a must-see feature of Yellowstone National Park in part because they’re so different from other thermal areas in the area. This is largely because limestone is a relatively soft type of rock, allowing the travertine formations to grow much faster than other sinter formations. It has been described as looking like a cave turned inside out.

At Yellowstone each year, the rain and melted snow seeps into the earth. Cold to begin with, the water is quickly warmed by heat radiating from a partially molten magma chamber deep underground, the remnant of a cataclysmic volcanic explosion that occurred 600,000 years ago.

After moving throughout this underwater “plumbing” system, the now hot water rises up through a system of small fissures. Here it also interacts with hot gases charged with carbon dioxide rising up from the magma chamber. As some of the carbon dioxide is dissolved in the hot water, a weak, carbonic acid solution is formed.

In the Mammoth area, the hot, acidic solution dissolves large quantities of limestone on its way up through the rock layers to the hot springs on the surface. Above ground and exposed to the air, some of the carbon dioxide escapes from the solution. Without it, the dissolved limestone can’t remain in the solution, so it reforms into a solid mineral. This white, chalky mineral is deposited as the travertine that forms the terraces.

Yellowstone Photo Gallery

Click image to enlarge.

Yellowstone Video Gallery

Travel with us:

Travel Diary

Travel

This is a daily log and photos of what we’re up to.

Day 191: Salt Lake City, UT

May 6, 2021

Thursday, May 6, 2021Salt Lake City, UTODOMETER: 87,358 | TOTAL MILES TRAVELED: 9,064Today was another school/work day, but we went out into the mountains in the afternoon for some fresh air, sunshine and nature. Jack took some photos and drone footage, it was...

Day 190: Salt Lake City, UT

May 5, 2021

Wednesday, May 5, 2021Salt Lake City, UTODOMETER: 87,358 | TOTAL MILES TRAVELED: 9,064After several days of long work hours and a lot of screen time, I was in desperate need of a run/ride today. We had a great time running up big hills with beautiful views of Salt...

Day 189: Salt Lake City, UT

May 4, 2021

Tuesday, May 4, 2021Salt Lake City, UTODOMETER: 87,358 | TOTAL MILES TRAVELED: 9,064Today was a school and work day. We also ran some errands and I washed the dogs as they were getting very stinky!Travel with us:Travel DiaryTravelThis...