Morning Geysers - Sawmill to Chromatic

When we first saw Sawmill Geyser on the right we weren't sure if we should keep going or not.  The only way around the area would have meant quite a bit of back tracking or coming at the area from a completely different direction, so I decided that we should press forward.

I almost recorded a video as we walked through the windblown spray, but I was already worried about mineral deposits on my camera lens, so I decided not to tempt fate by recording as we walked through a geyser's spray.


(Note: I'm pretty sure that this is Sawmill Geyser.  I didn't actually take a picture of a sign, so I can't be completely sure, but looking at maps of the area this video appears to match with Sawmill's location.)


Penta Geyser wasn't much to look at, but I'm pretty sure that was because Sawmill was erupting.  Many geysers located close together appear to have connected plumbing.

Belgian pool.  According to sources I've seen this was apparently named after an accident in the twenties.

In 1929 a gentleman from Belgium fell into this pool and later died from his burns. Boardwalks now exist throughout the basin to help prevent the repetition of such accidents.

I spotted the information on Wikipedia and verified it on the Yellowstone NPS site.

There was a large waiting area around Grand Geyser.  The area guide advises that if you see a large crowd "and the pool looks full, wait awhile.  You might get lucky and see the tallest predictable geyser in the world erupt.  A classic fountain geyser, Grand erupts with powerful bursts rather than a steady column like Old Faithful."  Sadly though nobody was waiting and we didn't stick around.

At least the pools constantly have water, and we saw several of them after Grand Geyser.

Economic Pool.  I have no idea where this name came from.  I wish that there were more explanatory signs around the various geothermal areas explaining especially the origins of different names.  I think that if we go back it will be well worth it to spend an entire day in the Upper Geyser Basin to see more than just one eruption--I think that if you timed your day right you could actually see quite a few eruptions.

Beauty Pool.  It certainly didn't look like much from far away, but according to the guide pamphlet it "shows its brightest colors when the water is hottest...  Beauty is closely related to neighboring Chromatic Pool.  During periodic energy shifts, the level of one spring rises as the other descends.

Tomorrow our visit will leave see a couple more geysers and one of the most beautiful pools in the area.

~Matt