|
A great view of the terraces and pools of the hot springs. In the very
early days, people had bathed in these pools, and had even taken advantage
of the hot water to do their laundry. This is the kind of thing that makes
the modern conservationist, ranger, and tourist cringe. This particular formation
is called the Minerva Pool, and is only one of several which decorate the
surface of Mammoth. |
|
Home sweet home. I have stayed in worse places, but going tent camping
in the mountains during September, and early October, is not one of the smarter
things I have done in my life. At night, I would crawl into my sleeping bag
with my pants, shirt, jacket, and sometimes even my boots, still on. |
|
A view of the back of Mammoth Hot Springs. From this angle it appears
to be a white mountain of calcite. |
|
I believe that these are the upper falls, on the Yellowstone river.
The river itself flows on a bit, and then cascades down the magnificent lower
falls, and into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. |
|
An overview of one of the geyser basins, from the edge of the surrounding
forests. |
|
Those who think of Yellowstone only as a dominion of geysers, hot springs,
and rustic cabins, are in for a pleasant surprise. Outside of the geyser basins,
and some of the scrub land to the north, the park is a virtual paradise. |
|
Another shot of the upper falls, from a very slightly different angle.
The effects of uplifting are more obvious here. This would seem to be a much
more recent uplift than that which spawned the great canyon further down
river. |
|
A shot of one of the steep walled sides of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
These golden, sulfur bearing rocks are what gave the area, and the latter
park, their names. |
|
A view of one of the most nimble denizens of the park. In books, these
are always called ground squirrels, but everyone I know calls them chipmunks.
These brazen little creatures are tenacious and shameless when it comes to
begging food off of tourists. |
|
A rare moment of stillness, as one of these little beasts sizes up a
tourist, before making his move. |
|
Spotting his quarry, a girl with a bag of snacks, he plans his strategy. |
|
Another shot of the lower falls, and the canyon. It is hard not to snap
pictures constantly, when surrounded by such scenes. |
|
My favorite shot of this area, framed in by the local pines, and clearly
showing the folds, hills and convolutions of the winding canyon. |
|
Another view of the sulfur coated sides of the canyon. These yellow
deposits, along with all of the geysers, and other thermal activities, are
remnants of the days when there was considerable volcanic activity here.
The thermal activity these days seems to be related to the early volcanic
activity which formed the Rockies. There were some changes here when Mt.
Saint Helens erupted, so it may be that there is an active area under the
entire Rocky chain. |
|
The opposite side of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. This canyon dead
ends, and the water leaves via another route. This is a result of uplifts,
and geologic changes, which changed the course of the river. |
|
This girl is being charmed by the antics of a pair of chipmunks. One
hustles over so as not to miss out on any handouts. The bolder member of the
pair, sits on her knee, and takes food from her hand. |