Yellowstone National Park: Most Geothermal Activity In The World
Cyndel Van Loh Pd 6
Yellowstone National Park Do you know what area has the most geothermal activity in the world? Even though other places have geothermal activity, Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 and covers the largest area, encompasses nearly 3,500 square miles. The park has Old faithful geyser, Lake Yellowstone which is in the caldera of a dormant volcano, and the park also has bubbling mud pots, hot springs and hot colorful pools.
More than half of the world’s geysers are located in Yellowstone. There are 10,000 thermal features in the park and only 3% are geysers. The most famous one is Old Faithful, named because of its reliability, and goes off ever 45-90 minutes. Subterranean chambers and conduits are what connect
to all the geysers. Geyser activity is affected by earthquakes which shift the land causing the underground water conduits between geysers, to shift. Old Faithful is believed to be more reliable because it’s in an isolated area away from the other geysers and pools.
Lake Yellowstone is in the caldera of a dormant volcano, which is 30x45 miles in size. There has to be three essential elements; otherwise, Yellowstone’s thermal features wouldn’t exist. There is a heat source from the magma which is at a depth of four to ten miles which is only one of the three elements. Water is the second element and it becomes heated when it collects in a porous reservoir. It begins to rise and the heated water moves through the third element rhyolite an asilica-bearing rock. It can withstand heat and pressure and the water emerges as either a geyser, hot spring, fumarole, or mud pot when the water reaches the surface. . Geologists believe under most land areas the crust’s surface is 90 miles and they believe that it is only 40 miles thick under Yellowstone. Areas magma intrusions bubble up into a thinner crust to a depth of 4-10 miles. Bubbling mud pots, hot springs and hot colorful pools. Nowhere else in the world are there as much sulfuric activity. There are thousands of hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles.
The warmth of the thermal run off provides an atmosphere for certain plants to grow and flower during the winter. The amazing colors in the hot springs and pools are created by heat resistant algae and bacteria in them as well as from deposits of geyserite
Yellowstone is a fascinating place to visit if you want to see and learn about the many thermal features in the park. My least favorite part is the smell of the sulfur at the mud pots, which apparently doesn’t bother the Bison because they are always roaming around in there.
Sources: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/28 http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/geysers.htm
Natural Wonders of the World Reader’s Digest, Page 415-417
Yellowstone National Park Do you know what area has the most geothermal activity in the world? Even though other places have geothermal activity, Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 and covers the largest area, encompasses nearly 3,500 square miles. The park has Old faithful geyser, Lake Yellowstone which is in the caldera of a dormant volcano, and the park also has bubbling mud pots, hot springs and hot colorful pools.
More than half of the world’s geysers are located in Yellowstone. There are 10,000 thermal features in the park and only 3% are geysers. The most famous one is Old Faithful, named because of its reliability, and goes off ever 45-90 minutes. Subterranean chambers and conduits are what connect
to all the geysers. Geyser activity is affected by earthquakes which shift the land causing the underground water conduits between geysers, to shift. Old Faithful is believed to be more reliable because it’s in an isolated area away from the other geysers and pools.
Lake Yellowstone is in the caldera of a dormant volcano, which is 30x45 miles in size. There has to be three essential elements; otherwise, Yellowstone’s thermal features wouldn’t exist. There is a heat source from the magma which is at a depth of four to ten miles which is only one of the three elements. Water is the second element and it becomes heated when it collects in a porous reservoir. It begins to rise and the heated water moves through the third element rhyolite an asilica-bearing rock. It can withstand heat and pressure and the water emerges as either a geyser, hot spring, fumarole, or mud pot when the water reaches the surface. . Geologists believe under most land areas the crust’s surface is 90 miles and they believe that it is only 40 miles thick under Yellowstone. Areas magma intrusions bubble up into a thinner crust to a depth of 4-10 miles. Bubbling mud pots, hot springs and hot colorful pools. Nowhere else in the world are there as much sulfuric activity. There are thousands of hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles.
The warmth of the thermal run off provides an atmosphere for certain plants to grow and flower during the winter. The amazing colors in the hot springs and pools are created by heat resistant algae and bacteria in them as well as from deposits of geyserite
Yellowstone is a fascinating place to visit if you want to see and learn about the many thermal features in the park. My least favorite part is the smell of the sulfur at the mud pots, which apparently doesn’t bother the Bison because they are always roaming around in there.
Sources: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/28 http://www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/geysers.htm
Natural Wonders of the World Reader’s Digest, Page 415-417