If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 673

 

 

 

 

 

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

 

This unused Yellowstone Forever postcard features a picture by Steve Hinch of the Grand Prismatic Spring.  The card was purchased at the Bear World gift shop on a recent trip to Yellowstone Park.  There is a blurb at the upper left on the reverse:  “Yellowstone National Park.  After witnessing an eruption of Great Fountain Geyser, one early explorer observed:  ‘We could not contain our enthusiasm; with one accord we all took off our hats and yelled with all our might.’  Surrounding the geyser is a spectacular array of terraced pools that in this photo reflect the evening sunset.” 

 

Our recent trip was an extended family gathering held near West Yellowstone.  We have a senior National Park pass which allowed us as many visits to the park as we could fit in between the scheduled activities with the group.  The first day we stopped to go around the boardwalk by the Grand Prismatic Spring it was extremely windy and cold.  When the hot steam from the pools blew warm air on us it smelled like sulfur but the warmth was welcome despite the smell.  On another day, when the entire group went, it was not only still windy the blowing steam was so thick that nothing much was visible from any point along the boardwalk.  The photos below are from the day of our first trip.

 

 

 

The fountain pool

 

The Great Fountain Geyser mentioned in the blurb, erupts every 9 to 15 hours.  Between eruptions it is just a deep, steamy pool.  A section of the looping boardwalk can be seen at the upper right side of the picture.  In 1959 there was a significant earthquake in the park that changed some of the features and made predicting some geyser eruptions more difficult.

 

The fountain pool from another angle

 

 

Streams of hot steamy water flowing out of the pools above

 

 

 

A section of the one-way boardwalk loop.  This is about a ½ mile loop that felt a lot longer due to the high winds.

 

 

 

Grand Prismatic Spring, similar to picture on the card

 

 

 Closer view of the Grand Prismatic Spring showing some of the amazing color variations.

 

The Grand Prismatic Spring was first recorded by early European explorers and surveyors.  A group of four trappers from the American Fur Company described it in 1839 as a “boiling lake” with a diameter of 300 ft or 90 m.  The colors are produced by mineral rich water and range from green to red.  The deep blue in the center of the pool comes from the water itself.  The strongest color effect is in the center of the spring due to the depth and sterility of the pool.

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Prismatic_Spring

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fountain_Geyser

https://www.nps.gov/places/000/great-fountain-geyser.htm