Firehole Lake Drive - Part II

After driving past White Dome Geyser we came to another dome, the Pink Cone Geyser.  This one has a particularly interesting history as it was apparently paved over in the 1930s, but "this seems to have had little effect on the geyser's performance."

No record of Pink Cone erupting exists until 1887.  from 1889 to 1936, it seemed to be dormant; then for the next 23 years, it erupted approximately every two days.  After the Hebgen Lake EArthquake in 1959, its intervals were as short as 50 minutes with eruptions of similar duration.  Through the years, the time between eruptions has increased to approximately 20 hours; the duration is about 100 minutes; and it erupts up to 30 feet (9 m). 

Small amounts of manganese oxide cause Pink Cone's color.  This mineral also comprises many of the brown, gray, or black deposits.
--from NPS Fountain Paint Pot Area Trail Guide

We didn't see any eruption from Pink Cone, but I think that is it off in the distance under the steam.

But when we drove on to the next parking area we found that part of it was under construction.  The boardwalk out to Firehole lake was being rebuilt.

Thankfully I could still walk out towards Hot Lake.

Steady Geyser was the first thing I saw along the path.

As you can see the geyser was somewhat active.


As you can see there was quite a bit of steam coming off the waters--Hot Lake truly lived up to its name.  I felt like I was walking through an alien landscape.

Right before getting to the lake I saw the Hot Cascades, mini-rapids of hot water, tumbling towards the lake.

Hot Lake itself wasn't the easiest thing to photograph because of the steam.

On the walk back the path disappeared from view at least once.

Then I saw Black Warrior Lake (or where it was supposed to be).

And there was some neat growth (lichen?) on the rocky ground.

You can see all of the drive pictures in this album:


~Matt