Yellowstone is an exceptionally good park to visit if you want to see different types of natural features in one place. The geysers and other hydrothermal features set Yellowstone apart from other parks, but it also has pine forests, mountains, the Yellowstone Grand Canyon, bison and elk herds, bears, waterfalls, loads of rivers and lakes, plus trout fishing. Yellowstone is an absolute mecca for geology nuts like you, dear reader, as it is perched on the plateau of a massive volcano (called the Yellowstone Caldera) and also forms part of the Rocky Mountain chain. Unfortunately, a lot of people seemed to have figured this out. Even in October, when half of the park's services are shut down in preparation for winter, the park was teeming with people (well so it seemed after the wilds of Glacier NP). All of the campgrounds that remained open (including one with 277 sites) were full, so we stayed at motels – one night in Gardiner on the north of the park, and one night in West Yellowstone on the west. Both Gardiner and West Yellowstone are in Montana (State Motto: “Gold and Silver”), but Yellowstone itself is primarily located in Wyoming (State Motto: “Equal Rights”), with small sections in Montana and Idaho (State Motto: “Let It Be Perpetual”).
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| Geysers in the distance |
History
Yellowstone National Park was the first national park created in America. It is said to also be the world's first national park, but we have not yet verified this fact. (We suspect that colonial governments in Africa may have set aside nature reserves prior to the creation of Yellowstone, but need to dig up some history books to determine if this is correct). Either way, when Yellowstone was set aside in 1872 during the presidency of Ulysses Grant, the national park was a new concept to the American people and the government had not yet determined how national parks should be governed or what their purpose should be. When the park was first created, people still hunted animals and grazed their stock within its boundaries . Eventually the army had to be sent in to keep poachers out of the park. The National Parks Service was created by the US Congress as an agency of the Department of the Interior in in 1916 and it took over the governance of Yellowstone upon its creation. Under the guidance of the National Parks Service conservation and preservation has taken primacy over other interests.
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| Coyote stalking its prey |
What We Did
Perhaps we started off on the wrong foot with Yellowstone, as we drove directly into the town of Mammoth when we first got there. We intended to visit the famous Mammoth Hot Springs not realizing that there is a small town at this sight as well (actually within the park), with a very large lodge, campground, gas stop, grocery store, 10 or so houses, souvenir stores, restaurant/cafeteria, the visitor center and a herd of resident elk. This town site appeared to be a similar size to Gardiner, where we'd stayed the night before.
The Mammoth Hot Springs themselves were very interesting, although at a low ebb in terms of water flow when we saw them. They consist of white terrace-like formations over an area of approximately 100 square meters. These terraces are formed when scalding water and steam, heated by the volcano, are pushed upwards through layers of limestone. Some of the limestone dissolves in the hot water and is deposited when the water cools as it flows from springs distributed throughout the terraces. In this way, it is exactly the reverse of the usual erosion of limestone, whereby rain water flowing over exposed limestone wears it down by dissolving. Because the water is hot, lots of limestone is absorbed by the water, and so the process of terrace-building is relatively fast. People visiting Mammoth Hot Springs year to year can appreciate its changing shape as the terraces sometimes form large ponds that change the pressure in the plumbing under the terraces and force new springs that create new terraces.
The hot springs water contain types of colourful bacteria creating interesting patterns in the water trickling out of the terraces. A boardwalk has been constructed so you can walk up, down and around the terraces, which is nifty, but you feel kind of foolish walking from terrace to terrace, bumping into the same 30 people at each stop.
A “thing” about Yellowstone, which is a little bit frustrating, is that it really a “driving” park, as opposed to a “hiking” or “cycling” or “horse riding” or “kayaking”, etc, park. You get in your car, drive from one miracle of creation to another, getting out of your car for a quick stroll (usually no more than 100 meters) to inspect the miracle, then back to your car and on to the next one. At times it feels a lot like a circus show or a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of a foreign city. This was no doubt exaggerated by the immediate contrast to our experiences in Glacier, which was very much the “do-it-yourself” type of wilderness park. Most people visit Yellowstone for one or two days, driving either the Upper Loop, or the Lower Loop, or both. There are certainly parts of Yellowstone that are remote and secluded. For example, I'm sure the back-country hiking in Yellowstone would be awesome amongst the secluded geysers and bison herds. However, because of our lack of preparation and time, we just joined the loops tours and saw the miracles of creation surrounded by day-trippers, with their big cameras and ice-cream cones.
At the Mammoth Hot Springs, we met a very nice couple from Montana. It was their wedding anniversary and they asked us to take a picture of them with the Mammoth Hot Springs in the background. They noticed our Glacier National Park t-shirts and being from Montana themselves wanted to know how we enjoyed ourselves there. (They actually got married in Glacier National Park). We spoke for a while about all manner of things. Our conversation culminated when the lady of the couple asked us - “So, tell us, what is Perth really like?” Having previously told them Perth has a very nice beach, I wasn't sure what to add. We smiled at each other a little bit and then moved on. People from Montana are nice.
Next we drove on to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The Yellowstone Grand Canyon is obviously not as grand as the regular Grand Canyon, but it's still worth a look. Running through soft sediments heated and reduced to a chalky, porous yellow-stained rock, by fermaroles, the Yellowstone River, which drains into Yellowstone Lake , thunders over a 94 meter fall and then into the canyon it has carved, said to be 1000 meters deep. Like other hydrothermal features at Yellowstone, the canyon is an unearthly sight to experience. The only sound is the heavy rumble of the waterfall, the place reeks of sulfur coming from vents in the side of the canyon, which is an even, smooth, tree-less yellow and white slope. We drove along the North Rim, stopping at the overlooks, taking pictures at each. Another “thing” about Yellowstone, for some reason whenever you get out of your car to marvel at a miracle of creation, it starts to rain. It's uncanny, actually.
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| Lower Falls and Grand Canyon of Yellowstone |
After the canyon we went on to Norris Geyser Basin, which is actually very cool. We did the boardwalk hike over the geyser field. We were out of our car, so it was raining, and there was something very surreal about walking through hot steam with rain falling on you. The Steamboat Geyser is probably the most impressive geyser in this basin. It shoots boiling water about 6 feet into their air every now and again and apparently every few years it goes bananas and send the water up a 100 feet or so. Besides the geysers, there are hot pools and fermaroles (which sound like factory steam vents). The clear hot pools look very inviting, bubbling away cheerfully through all weather and ringed with multi-coloured thermaphile bacteria.
Another “thing” about Yellowstone, is that there are a lot of rules. Probably for good reason since there are many things in this park that will kill you if given half the chance. Here is an extract from a typical warning sign (signs like this are placed all over the park):
Hydrothermal Areas: The thin ground in these areas breaks easily, and often overlies scalding water. Stay on the trail.
Bears: Although your chance of an encounter is low, your safety is not guaranteed. Minimize your risk by making loud noises, shouting or singing. Hike in groups and use caution where vision is obstructed. Do not hike after dark. Avoid carcasses; bears often defend this source of food. Obtained detailed bear information from a ranger at the Visitor Education Center.
All Wildlife: You must stay at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves; and at least 25 yards (23 m) away from all other animals – including birds. Do not feed the wildlife. It is illegal to disturb animals from any distance.
The following day we visited the famous Old Faithful Geyser and a collection of lesser thermal hot-spots. Old Faithful is thus named because it erupts on or about every 90 minutes. The geyser is created by a build-up of pressure in a reservoir beneath the geyser. Water is super-heated by the volcano, producing small bubbles of water vapour which grow as they rise through the reservoir. Some of this steam finds its way through a network of gaps in the rock and eventually out the geyser. However, because more steam is produced than is let off, pressure builds in the geyser, which increases the boiling point of the water in the reservoir. Eventually, the pressure is so high that water expands and is pushed through the gaps in the rock and through the geyser. When it reaches the open air, where the pressure is far less, it expands suddenly, forming the huge plumes of steam and water that is the geyser eruption. Because the heat from the volcano and the size of the reservoir and geyser are constant, the timing of the eruptions can be predicted. We watched the eruption with about 200 other tourists. The infrastructure around this geyser is stupendous. They recently opened a new, $27m visitor center there, which is surrounded by car parks that could accommodate more than 1000 cars. In addition there are souvenir shops, a cafe, hotels and a petrol station.
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| Old Faithful errupting |
Conclusion
As alluded to above, Yellowstone is a popular park and upwards of three million people visit it each year. Because of its popularity and its history, it is said to have informed many Americans' perception of nature. At the time of its creation, the concept of setting aside a piece of land merely for its scenic beauty was a controversial idea. Many considered it absurd to prevent hunting, logging and other commercial uses of a piece of land. Fast forward 138 years to today, most Americans celebrate the conservation principals by which human activity in the national parks is governed. Obviously in Yellowstone commercial interests play a big role in the form of tourism, but if the place wasn't a national park, no doubt there'd be an Old Faithful Casino and hot springs spas left, right and center.
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