Previous photo Next photo Thumbnail page
DesktopScenes.com » Scenes from Yellowstone (2003)
Fountain Paint Pots Silex Spring Multi-Hued Fumaroles Clepsydra Geyser Take Time to Smell the Flowers Excelsior Geyser Crater Excelsior Geyser Blues Grand Prismatic Spring The Crossing Old Faithful
First page Previous page Index page Next page Last page
Excelsior Geyser Crater  [68 of 100]


Click to show/hide keyboard shortcut help
Keyboard shortcuts are active:

RIGHT arrow - next page
LEFT arrow - previous page
Page Up - index page
HOME - first page
END - last page
ESC,S,s - toggle start/stop slide show
ExhibitPlus 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 is now a huge hot spring which produces a tremendous flow of hot water: over 4,000 gallons per minute! The water percolates up from the super-hot main crater (visible as a deep blue area on the right in this image) and then flows downwards through a series of channels, ending up in the Firehole River. The main channel flowing down to the river has such a high flow that it is practically a river itself! The large size of the spring has led to the creation of enormous yellow, orange and red microbial mats, seen here on the left.

(023799)

Would you like to use this image for a Web site, product or project? Or perhaps obtain a print for framing and display? Please contact me for licensing or purchase information, mentioning the six-digit number located just above.
If you'd like to make a small donation to support my art, please use one of the boxes below. Donate $10 or more and get a free customized desktop background image of your choice! Thanks for your support. :)

Donate $2
Donate $5
Donate $10
Donate $20
Donate $30
Donate: $

© 2003-2011 Charles M. Kozierok. All Rights Reserved.