Morning Geysers - Castle to Scalloped

On the morning of June 9, before we checked out of Old Faithful Inn we headed out to explore the rest of the Upper Geyser Basin.

Yellowstone National Park has approximately half of the world’s geysers—and most of them are located at the Upper Geyser Basin. One square mile contains at least 150 of these hydrothermal wonders, making this area the most densely concentrated geyser region in the world. Five major geysers—Old Faithful, Grand, Castle, Daisy, and Riverside are located here. 

--from the Old Faithful Virtual Visitor Center

It was a beautiful morning and we could see steam rising from several thermal features across the river when we set out.

Our first stop was Castle Geyser which signage claims "is thousands of years old and rests upon even older platforms.  Together they form one of the largest sinter formations in the world."



This video should give you a feel for the area right around Castle Geyser.  At this point we left the main paved trail and headed onto a boardwalk.

Shield spring has clear water that looks quite inviting, until you remember that it is dangerously hot.

With temperatures above 199ºF (93ºC), Crested Pool is almost constantly boiling, sometimes to 6 feet or more (2 m).  The extreme heat prevents most bacterial growth, resulting in exceptionally clear blue water.  Boiling is particularly active along the intricate sinter formation circling the spring, the "crested" edge.  Listen for the sizzling. 

--from the NPS Old Faithful Area Trail Guide

If you watch the video below you can definitely see the boiling water and hear the sizzling.


Many of the brilliant colors that you'll see throughout the area are heat-loving bacteria (thermophiles) that have colonized the many different thermal features.  You can actually tell the temperature of a feature partly based upon the color of bacteria that live in it.

Right after seeing the Crested Pool we headed over the Firehole River.

Up and down the river there were many features visible, including a good number right on the edge of the bank--I think it wasn't until further on that we saw something actually in the water.

We saw quite a bit of water pouring into the river from the thermal areas.  I'm sure that plenty of Yellowstone's creeks and rivers are kept a bit warmer than they would otherwise be.  The warmth certainly seems to attract the animals during the winter if the pictures and video I've seen from that season are any indication.


This video of the Scalloped Spring shows you how much steam came off these features.  I'm sure the colder it was the more there was.  I know that I wouldn't have wanted to be in some of these basins during the height of summer with a hot summer sun beating down and heat radiating upwards from the hot water.

Tomorrow we'll continue across the basin towards Morning Glory Pool.

~Matt