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 108: San Felipe, Mexico
Friday, February 12, 2021San Felipe, MexicoODOMETER: 83,977 | TOTAL MILES TRAVELED: 6,032 by JanaToday, Grant left in the morning to make the 200-km trip back across the border to El Centro to pick up our new tow package and internet routers. Our tow package...
Day 107: San Felipe, Mexico
Thursday, February 11, 2021San Felipe, MexicoODOMETER: 83,977 | TOTAL MILES TRAVELED: 6,032 by JanaWe are going to be staying in San Felipe until the third week of February. Since our tow package broke on the way down here, we’ve learned that it is very...
Day 106: San Felipe, Mexico
Wednesday, February 10, 2021San Felipe, MexicoODOMETER: 83,977 | TOTAL MILES TRAVELED: 6,032 by JanaWe are going to be staying in San Felipe until the third week of February. Since our tow package broke on the way down here, we’ve learned that it is very...
Reflections
Reflections
These are our personal thoughts on some of our experiences.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Our Trip
Trip
Our Trip
Trip
TRAVEL WITH US!
We are currently sailing the South Pacific to Australia.
Thank you for joining us, have a great day!