Driving through America�s National Parks
Yellowstone - Part 3
by Quamrul Haider
Shortly after 1pm on August 16, we drove from the Fountain Paint Pots area of Yellowstone to the Mammoth Hot Springs Basin.
The basin is Yellowstones volcanic energy displayed in one of the worlds greatest collections of intricate, super-heated spring water cascading over a series of beautiful travertine terraces. A fragile rarity of nature glowing with tapestries of rich colors created by the heat-loving microorganisms called thermophiles, travertines are curious sculptures formed by the interaction of water with limestone. They range in age from late Pleistocene to the present.
The walkway around this magnificent geothermal wonder has multiple levels. A walk on the lower level allowed us to have great views of many travertines and springs. Some of the travertines resembled tiered wedding cakes with fluted edges. In others, water trickling over from one terrace to another blended together to look like a frozen waterfall. The travertines are similar to the colorful formations called speleothems we saw around the stalagmites at Carlsbad Cavern National Park in New Mexico.
One of the springs, Minerva, stands out for of its ornate travertine formations and wide range of bright colors that change with the seasons. According to the parks brochure, since 1900 Minerva has been alternating between active and inactive states with regular periodicity. Currently, it is in the active state.
Next, we drove to the Upper Terrace Drive, a 1.5mile one-way loop around more hot springs. From there we got a birds eye view of the Main Terrace and the village below with all of the surrounding mountains.
The upper terrace has interesting formations, too. We saw a tall, phallic shaped dormant hot spring called the Liberty Cap, apparently named after hats worn during the French Revolution. We also came across a large, part orange, part white colored mound that was noticeably different from many of the other geothermal formations nearby. Called the Orange Spring Mound, although most of it is chalk-white, this eye popping formation is coloured by streaks of bacteria and algae.
The Tower-Roosevelt area was next in our bucket list. The attractions in this area include the Petrified Tree, Tower Fall, Mount Washburn, Lamar Valley, camp grounds and many hiking trails. Our daughter was interested in seeing the petrified tree. There is nothing impressive about this piece of erroneously named fossil. It looked more like a piece of dead log.
Our next destination was the Tower Fall, so named because of the towering volcanic formations surrounding the waterfall. We had a magnificent view of the 132feet picturesque waterfall from an easy-to-reach roadside overlook.
On our way to the fall, we had the first sighting of a bison, nonchalantly walking on the middle of the narrow road towards our car. We had to wait for more than five minutes for the shaggy bovine to get out of our way.
In the final leg of our tour, we drove to the Norris Geyser Basin. The drive offered panoramic views of Yellowstones Grand Canyon, a spectacular 20 miles of chasm whose walls drop precipitously onto the banks of the Yellowstone River, the architect of the canyon.
Norris Geyser Basin is home to the oldest, hottest, tallest and the most dynamic hydrothermal feature in Yellowstone _ the Steamboat Geyser. Unlike the Old Faithful, Steamboat is unfaithful. It does not erupt on a predictable schedule, with recorded intervals between major eruptions ranging from four days to fifty years. From a distance, we also had a peek at numerous small geysers in the Porcelain Basin. Its a stark, milky colored, barren landscape caused by limestone dissolved in highly acidic water.
Yellowstone is serious about bears. Everywhere we went there were warning signs: Be Bear Aware. Having said that, we didnt see any bear. That was our only disappointment. However, we saw large herds of bison grazing in the meadows of the park.
The magnitude of Yellowstones grandeur is indeed spellbinding. Its a brilliant kaleidoscope of travertines, geysers, fumaroles, bacteria mats and colorful pools. The diversity and uniqueness of attractions of this living and breathing wilderness cannot be matched by the other parks we visited in America. Its natural phenomena, which exist in their own time and place, make Yellowstone National Park an enchanting wonderland for people of all ages.
The writer is Professor of Physics at Fordham University, New York.
Photos: Mahjabeen Haider
