Yellowstone geysers

To get an appreciation for this page, Yellowstone's geysers, you have to understand the park's incredible terrain. Contrary to my first impression upon entering the park for the first time, having come in from the south entrance, it's way, way more than downed forested trees and bare hilltops.

You must think of Yellowstone as a giant caldera, that is a volcanic hole, 35 miles wide and 45 miles long. You don't feel like you're in a hole because you see mountains (outside the rim of the caldera), hills, rivers, waterfalls and valleys, all breath-takingly beautiful within the confines of America's first national park.

But go any distance within and you will witness the extraordinary volcanic activity that is going on underneath all that beauty. In fact, the many geothermal pools, mudholes, hot springs and geysers add to the stunning landscape, making the park one of the most spectacular you will encounter.

These are but a few of the hundreds of named pools and geysers that bubble, gurgle, spit and spew in the park. They are my favorites.

If you've not been to Yellowstone you may be wondering how it is we're able to get close to these spewing geysers. The above photo is typical of the boardwalks that meander through the fields of pools and geysers. There are signs posted everywhere that the waters are boiling and it would behoove one to not get off the boardwalk.

We've all heard most of Old Faithful, but I didn't realize that Old Faithful is only one of hundreds and hundreds of like geysers, the only difference being that O.F. is, well, faithful in her eruptions...on time, give or take 10 minutes. The others, however, such as this one above called Morning Glory, is much more beautiful. She is 1.3 miles away from Old Faithful in a field of others that are just as spectacular. The next several shots were taken in the field surrounding Old Faithful, called the Upper Basin.

Unlike Old Faithful, many of the geysers will erupt, but not on a timed pattern. The park services, however, will put up a sign by each geyser that gives a window as to when the geyser will erupt. Sometimes, it's a four-hour window. Others erupt more often.

The shots below were taken at a totally different type of pool basin, that of West Thumb. The cool thing about these is that some of them, such as Fishing Cone, are actually IN the Yellowstone Lake. It's said that one could catch a fish in the lake and then fry it in the boiling pool before ever leaving your boat. Myth?

You can almost guess the name of this one: Mud Volcano. And I guess I've failed to mention the smell that goes along with many of the spewing geysers. It's a very pungent rotten egg smell that, in many areas, almost takes your breath away. The women cover their mouths. The men act macho, but you can see their nostrils flaring. The teens say, "Aw, gross, Dude. Who did that?"

This one is called Dragon's Mouth Spring. Not so much because it smells like a dragon's mouth (does anyone really know what a dragon's mouth smells like??), but because of the thunderous roar that is back in the cave or 'mouth' as the water splashes against the cavernous walls.