Midway Geyser Basin Magnets

This is a view of one of the deep turquoise pools in the Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park. The extraordinary, desolate landscape, is dotted with richly coloured geyser pools, which are in turn ringed with orange-stained rock. In the distance, the omnipresent lodge pole pines complete the amazing spectrum of colours.

Turquoise Pool Midway Basin Yellowstone Wyoming by Debra Martz After Excelsior on the left side of the boardwalk is Turqoise Pool. It is also where the Midway Geyser Basin boardwalk begins a loop trail. In 1878, the Hayden Expedition named this pool for its milky, white bottom and gem-like, blue-colored water. It is considered a hot spring with temperature 142-160°F ©Debra Martz, All Rights Reserved

Excelsior Geyser Crater is a geothermal feature located in the Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. The Excelsior Geyser Crater is one of the largest hot springs in the world, measuring approximately 330 feet (100 meters) in diameter and up to 200 feet (61 meters) deep.

This image, taken at the Midway Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park, shows the incredible array of colours seen across the landscape. The shades of orange and red come from the microbial life that resides on the borders of the hot springs. In this image, I've abstracted the landscape by confining the view to a narrow segment that presents the colours in horizontal bands.

Abstract in Yellowstone by Debra Martz One cannot help but notice the uniqueness of the ground surrounding the pools and geysers in Yellowstone. A closeup of the wet ground brought about by the steam of the Turquoise Pool has neat patterns, earth tone colors and seems flow in this section next to the boardwalk. ©Debra Martz, All Rights Reserved

Excelsior Geyser Crater Yellowstone Wyoming by Debra Martz After crossing the Firehole River bridge, a brief climb on the connecting boardwalk soon reveals the source of the massive amounts of steam. It is the Excelsior Geyser Crater which releases 4000-5000 gallons of water per minute into the Firehole River. Though now dormant, in the late 19th century it was the largest geyser in the world with bursts up to 300 feet in height. All of the wild activity seemed to have blown itself apart creating a crater. After 1901 there was only one more eruption; it was in 1985 and lasted two days. Excelsior is now considered more of a hot spring with temperature of approximately 199° F. ©Debra Martz, All Rights Reserved In My Gallery/Co...

Bison walk through a meadow near the Midway Geyser Basin area of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Another thermal pool along the boardwalk in the Midway Geyser Basin is Opal Pool. . Though usually active as a hot spring,approximate temperature of 132 °F (56 °C), Opal Pool is considered a fountain-type geyser though eruptions are infrequent. The first recorded eruption of Opal Pool was in 1947 and it occurred infrequently until they stopped in 1953. The eruptions reemerged in 1979 erupting without much warning. A fact I found interesting: In 2005 Opal completely drained, but refilled as a vivid blue-green pool in 2008. ©Debra Martz, All Rights Reserved In My Gallery/Collections: "U S National Park" 202220140908-DSC_4860-Edit.tif

Boardwalk to the Grand Prismatic Yellowstone Wyoming Midway Geyser Basin contains a small collection of mammoth-sized springs. Midway is actually part of the Lower Geyser Basin but because of its isolated location between the main features of Lower and Upper geyser basins it became known as Midway. In 1889, Rudyard Kipling, who visited Yellowstone, referred to it as "Hell's Half Acre." Even today it is still remembered by that name. And though it is the smallest geyser basin, Midway possesses two of the largest hot springs in the world. Grand Prismatic Spring, nearly 370 feet in diameter, sits upon a large mound surrounded by small step-like terraces. The other feature, Excelsior Geyser, was once the largest geyser in the world before ...

The presence of various species of microbial bacteria provides a brownish purple tint to the intricately terraced and fractured volcanic rock surrounding the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.