Up one level DesktopScenes.com » Scenes from Yellowstone (2003)

Scenes from Yellowstone (2003)
A visual adventure through the spectacular beauty of Yellowstone National Park. Experience powerful geysers, colorful hot springs, panoramic mountain views, thundering waterfalls, and sprawling, wildlife-filled valleys in this huge (100 photo) SceneSet!

Previous page Next page 41-80 (of 100)
Lamar Hills By early August (when we visited the park) much of the West is experiencing dry conditions and the hills turn varying shades of yellow and brown, especially as the sun gets low on the horizon. Here, the golden tones contrast with the evergreen trees and the crisp blue high-elevation skies. Lamar Hills
Twilight Cloudscape As we continued driving through the Lamar Valley, the bears kept hiding, but the scenery got more and more beautiful as the day faded and the light grew more golden. Twilight Cloudscape
Alpenglow -- Lamar Valley Finally the sun's rays left the valley and slowly crept up the mountainsides as we watched. This panorama doesn't really do the view justice, but gives you a good idea of what it was like. The cloud patterns were also very interesting that evening. Alpenglow -- Lamar Valley
Soda Butte There are no active geysers or hot springs in the Lamar Valley right now -- at least that I know of -- but this extinct geyser dome is evidence that the area has been geothermally active. The name of this feature comes from its location, near where Soda Butte Creek joins the Lamar River. It is actually very large -- some 20 feet wide -- and chunks of its base are eroding and breaking off (hopefully due to natural, not man-made activities!) Soda Butte
Lamar Valley Sunset This sunset wasn't as nice as the one I experienced my first evening in Montana, back in Bozeman, but was still very pleasant. I began to wonder if the sunsets were Lamar Valley Sunset
Magenta Twilight -- Lamar Valley After the sun went down, the sky turned a pleasant spectrum of blues, pinks and purples as haze began to settle over the valley. Quite a beautiful site, which I attempted to capture in this multi-shot panorama of the valley, river, mountains and sky. The small brown dots on the bank of the river at the bottom left are a herd of bison, which made this a nice conclusion to a wonderful evening. Magenta Twilight -- Lamar Valley
Misty Dawn on the Yellowstone Having had only limited success in the wildlife department the prior evening, we decided to try the early morning approach the next day, getting up before sunrise and heading out for another drive. (What, you mean people Misty Dawn on the Yellowstone
First Light -- Hayden Valley After trying the Lamar Valley the previous night, we set our morning sights on the Hayden Valley, another valley widely regarded as an excellent place to find active wildlife. The Yellowstone River runs through this valley from the Canyon area, south until it meets Yellowstone Lake; here the rising sun tinges its banks golden hues. First Light -- Hayden Valley
Otter Creek So we're driving along the road keeping our eyes peeled for wildlife, and we spot a sign saying Otter Creek
Fishing in the Hayden Valley The Hayden Valley has numerous wetland areas, where we saw hundreds of waterfowl. No, Fishing in the Hayden Valley
Still Morning A peaceful, still view of a quiet section of the Yellowstone River. Still Morning
Bison Reflections and Wildflowers Even when you can't find other forms of wildlife in Yellowstone, there is likely to be a bison or three not far away. :) Here the soft morning light illuminated this colorful hillside, with a herd of grazing bison, refleced in the water below. Bison Reflections and Wildflowers
Young Buck Finally, after much driving around, we came across this young fellow -- a four-legged creature that was Young Buck
Sunlit Steambath Driving further south along the road towards Yellowstone Lake, we came across an area with some interesting geothermal features. This was a huge hot spring -- it must have been around 50 feet wide -- that was producing enormous billowing clouds of steam, lit up by the bright sun. Sunlit Steambath
Clear Air at Yellowstone Lake Yellowstone Lake is a very large body of water located near the middle of the park. Due to the high elevation of the park, it is frozen much of the year, and filled with very cold water even in the summer -- cold enough that people are warned not to fall out of their boats! The lake is ringed with geothermal features, some of which are even under the water. It has been in the news lately because of evidence of geothermal activity in the lake bottom, with some scientists concerned about what this might mean in terms of the potential for earthquakes or eruptions in the greater park area. I didn't take a lot of pictures of the lake, because, as one Yellowstone guide put it: "What can I say? It's a big lake." :) But I did like this view of one cove with these big rocks in the foreground. Clear Air at Yellowstone Lake
Morning Light at West Thumb Basin Yellowstone Lake is shaped somewhat like a hand; on the west side there is a rounded bay that has, naturally come to be known as West Thumb. On the shoreline here is one of the most interesting geyser basins in the park, where geothermal features lie directly adjacent to the lake and interact with its cool waters. Morning Light at West Thumb Basin
Abyss Pool -- West Thumb Geyser Basin Abyss Pool is the deepest hot spring in Yellowstone, at 53 feet. It was named because this great depth makes it seem like the pool has no bottom... like an abyss... Abyss Pool -- West Thumb Geyser Basin
Underwater Springs West Thumb basin features many geothermal spring vents that are either completely or partially under the water of the lake. In some cases, they may be above the water level at certain times of the year and below it at others. Underwater Springs
Biological Abstraction One might be hard-pressed to think of bacteria as being in any way "beautiful", but the Biological Abstraction
Firehole Spring Splash Firehole Lake Drive is a loop road north of Old Faithful, near the Lower Geyser Basin. It is not a "household name" like several other geyser areas at Yellowstone, but has some impressive geothermal features. Firehole Spring Splash
Great Fountain Geyser Great Fountain Geyser is one of the largest and most dramatic geysers at Yellowstone National Park. Its "cone" is actually a set of sinter terraces over 100 feet wide -- most, but not all of it is pictured above. The crater at the center, where eruptions take place, is over 10 feet in diameter. It erupts approximately every 10 to 12 hours, with water reaching heights over 100 feet; unfortunately, we arrived between eruptions and didn't have time to wait. Great Fountain Geyser
White Dome Geyser White Dome Geyser erupts on an irregular schedule, approximately every 10 to 60 minutes, and reaches heights of 20 to 30 feet. The cone is over 10 feet high, but the opening of the geyser is only a few inches wide. As minerals build up on the outside, raising the cone, they also line the inside of the geyser, reducing the width of its orifice. It is possible that in time the cone will seal itself and White Dome will go dormant. White Dome Geyser
Fountain Paint Pots The Fountain Paint Pots are one of the biggest attractions of the Lower Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park. In this huge pit, an acidic mud composed of clay and silica particles boils away under the influence of geothermal heat. The color, which ranges from gray to pink, comes from minerals in the original rock that formed the mud. Fountain Paint Pots
Silex Spring Silex is a fairly ordinary hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin, but I found its cool blue color fascinating, especially in contrast to the crisp Wyoming sky. The spring erupted after the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake, which affected a lot of Yellowstone's geothermal features (its epicenter was just west of the park's boundaries.) Silex Spring
Multi-Hued Fumaroles This collection of fumaroles (steam vents) was bordered by rocks in a variety of pastel shades. The oranges and reds are due to mineral contaminants in quartz, I believe; the yellow on the left may be from sulphur deposited by the steam itself. Multi-Hued Fumaroles
Clepsydra Geyser A Clepsydra Geyser
Take Time to Smell the Flowers Elk compete with bison for the title of most populous large mammals in Yellowstone National Park. I was lucky enough to capture this female elk, who appears to be pausing for a pleasant sniff. I'm guessing that I may be anthropomorphizing a bit here, however. :) Take Time to Smell the Flowers
Excelsior Geyser Crater In the 19th century, Excelsior Geyser was the largest geyser in the world; over 200 feet wide and 300 feet long, it erupted up to 300 feet in the air -- it must have been quite impressive to see. Sometime in the late 1880s, Excelsior went dormant, though it oddly sprang to life in 1985, for just a couple of days, erupting to a much lesser height. Excelsior Geyser Crater
Excelsior Geyser Blues Another view of the Excelsior Geyser crater, taken from the opposite "hot" end of the spring, on one of the walkways in Midway Geyser Basin. Excelsior Geyser Blues
Grand Prismatic Spring Grand Prismatic Spring is the star attraction of the Midway Geyser Basin and is very appropriately named: it is indeed grand, and as you can see above, its waters and bacterial mats feature a veritable rainbow of colors. With dimensions of 250 feet by 380 feet, it is the largest hot spring in Yellowstone, and third largest in the world (the two larger ones are in New Zealand.) I was absolutely mesmerized by Grand Prismatic, and upset that I couldn't get closer to it to check it out better! Grand Prismatic Spring
The Crossing Driving from one of the geyser basins towards the Old Faithful area, we knew that there must be wildlife around because there was a big collection of cars stopped by the side of the road. (This is a common occurrence at Yellowstone!) We pulled over and found a large herd of elk grazing nearby. Then, all at once, they turned and crossed the river, presumably heading towards greener pastures. The Crossing
Old Faithful I know what you're thinking: "Finally, he gets to Old Faithful!" Well, it did take us until late on our third day at the park to work our way down to its location. Old Faithful is indeed the most famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park, and likely the world. It was named because of its reliable, predictable schedule of eruptions: it shoots off about every 45 to 90 minutes. Old Faithful
Castle Geyser at Rest Named for its terraced shape, Castle Geyser is one of the more beautiful formations at Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin. It's quite large, with a sinter cone over 15 feet high; the whole formation is about 50 feet wide (see the fence on the left side for some idea of scale.) Castle Geyser at Rest
Morning Glory Pool Morning Glory pool is named for its shape, which bears an obvious resemblance to a morning glory flower bloom. It is a rather large pool, and has always been a favorite of tourists. Too much of a favorite, unfortunately -- its behavior has been negatively impacted by early visitors throwing pennies and other foreign objects into it, which can ruin a hot spring or geyser. Fortunately, most Yellowstone visitors now are a bit more enlightened (though not all, sadly.) Morning Glory Pool
Punchbowl Spring Punchbowl Spring is another accurately-named spring at Yellowstone. It is about 12 feet in diameter and is contained by a "punch bowl" of scalloped sinter about 3 feet high. The spring is deceptively deep (more than 20 feet) and constantly boils away as seen in this image, with water running off through several channels. Punchbowl Spring
Daisy Geyser Daisy erupts every couple of hours for a few minutes. First it begins to bubble up water, which starts to fill the area surrounding its vent, and then it shoots water to a height of over 100 feet. It is an unusual geyser because of the slope of its cone, which causes it to erupt at an angle, as I endeavored to show in this shot. Daisy Geyser
Old Faithful Ablaze A lone tree and steam from a resting Old Faithful glow with the golden light from the setting sun. Old Faithful Ablaze
Time Goes By This is Old Faithful, but it probably looks quite different from most Old Faithful images you have seen before. Time Goes By
Steamed Goose On the morning of our last day at Yellowstone, we awoke at Old Faithful to find brooding, moody skies overhead. We set off to two of the smaller geyser basins -- Biscuit Basin and Black Sand Basin -- to check out the geothermal features there. Steamed Goose
Divine Retribution This was one of the most dramatic moments I experienced at Yellowstone National Park. Walking around Black Sand Basin, the gloomy skies above parted and rays of sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating the pillars of steam rising from hot springs and fumaroles in the ground. The word that best came to mind to describe the resulting scene was... Divine Retribution
Page 2 of 3 Next page

I hope you're enjoying the HTML version of this online SceneSet at DesktopScenes.com. You may also want to try out the Flash version of the online gallery, which has more features.

Get a complete SceneSet as a downloadable SceneSet screensaver program for your own PC! It costs just a few dollars, and helps offset my costs. Or, if you are willing to make a small donation to support my art, please enter the amount at right and press "Donate". Thanks for your support!
Donate: $

© 2004-2006 Charles M. Kozierok. All Rights Reserved.