The landscape at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming is populated by areas with volcanic activity causing flowing water to boil and create steam.
Heat and volcanic gases from slowly cooling magma rise and warm the dense salty water that occupies fractured rocks above the Yellowstone magma chamber. That brine, in turn, transfers its heat to overlying fresh groundwater which is recharged by rainfall and snowmelt from the surface.
What created the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone pink and yellow colors? Mineral stains mark the locations of hot springs and steam vents in the canyon walls. For thousands of years, upwardly percolating fluids have altered the chemistry of the rocks, turning them yellow, red, white, and pink.
Contrary to popular belief, Yellowstone was not named for the abundant rhyolite lavas in the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone that have been chemically altered by reactions with steam and hot water to create vivid yellow and pink colors. Instead, the name was attributed as early as 1805 to Native Americans who were referring to yellow sandstones along the banks of the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana, several hundred miles downstream and northeast of the Park.
The 308-foot Lower Falls at Yellowstone National Park may have formed because the river flows over volcanic rock more resistant to erosion than the downstream rocks, which are hydrothermally altered. The 109-foot Upper Falls flows over similar rocks.
Past and current hydrothermal activity at Yellowstone National Park altered and weakened the rhyolite, making the rocks softer. The Yellowstone River eroded these weakened rocks to deepen and widen the canyon, a process that continues today. The current canyon begins at Lower Falls and ends downstream from Tower Fall. Here is a view of the Lower Falls.
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is the most breathtaking sight inside Yellowstone National Park. Twenty miles long, the canyon is up to 4,000-feet wide and 1,200-feet deep in places. It’s located on the eastern side of the park. From several vantage points, you can view Lower Falls plunging steeply into the canyon 308 feet, or the Upper Falls tumbling 109 feet.
While bears are sighted in Spring and Summer in Yellowstone, we saw only two, and that too from very far for even a 300mm lens to capture.
Yellowstone is the only place in the United States where bison have continuously lived since the prehistoric age, according to the Interior Department. Between 2,300 and 5,500 bison live in Yellowstone, according to the Park Service.
Since our visit was in September, most bison had already left Hayden Valley, but here are some by a watering hole.
With spectacular clouds in a blue sky, the drive through the dramatic Fall landscape in Yellowstone National Park was mesmerizing.
Yellowstone National Park is a nearly 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. Mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of Montana and Idaho too. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers, including its most famous, Old Faithful. It’s also home to hundreds of animal species, including bears, wolves, bison, elk and antelope.
As we were visiting in Fall, the landscape in Yellowstone was drier but the vistas were still beautiful.
We visited Jackson Hole, Wyoming recently and will be posting images from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
The airport in Jackson Hole is the only airport in United States within a national park – Grand Teton National Park. Arrived with a view of the Teton mountain range.
Dramatic clouds enhance this image of the mountain ridges in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
A view of the mountains and valley from a bench at Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Bench View from Shenandoah National Park
On January 21, 1988, the lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places under the title of Bass Harbor Head Light Station and belongs to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The tower and lighthouse viewing area offers a vantage point to see a panoramic view of the harbor and the islands in the distance. This is easily one of the most, if not the most, photographed lighthouse in New England.
Maine – Bass Harbor Head Light
Maine – Bass Harbor Head Light B&W
The cliffside Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse in Acadia National Park, Maine marks the entrance to Bass Harbor on the southwestern side of Mount Desert Island. The lighthouse, built of brick in 1858 on a stone foundation, stands 56 feet above high water.
The best view of this lighthouse is from the ocean, but this side view shows the treacherous rocks of the cliff.
Maine – Bass Harbor Head Light on the Rocks
The wait is over; the sunrise has occurred; the views were fantastic; it is now time to leave. People milling around after sunrise at Cadillac Mountain, Arcadia National Park, Maine
Acadia National Park – Cadillac Mountain – Silhouettes at Sunrise
Soft, fluffy clouds over the ocean at sunrise at Acadia National Park, Maine
Acadia National Park – Fluffy Clouds over the Ocean
Sunrise at Cadillac Mountain, Arcadia National Park, Maine creates a warm glow on the clouds over the ocean
Acadia National Park – Cadillac Mountain – Sunrise Glow on the Clouds
Sunrise at Acadia National Park, Maine can’t yet burn off the low hanging clouds over Bar Harbor
Acadia National Park – Cadillac Mountain – Low Clouds at Sunrise
The sun rises, but the clouds obscure the view from Cadillac Mountain, Arcadia National Park, Maine.
Acadia National Park – Cadillac Mountain – Sunrise Behind Clouds