Our first stop on our first full day at Yellowstone was Norris Geyser Basin, the hottest and most dynamic of the geothermal areas at Yellowstone. New features are constantly popping up and existing ones changing here. In fact, at the time we visited, part of the basin was closed for safety reasons -- heat levels along the pathways had reached temperatures high enough to melt your shoes!

Approaching Norris on a clear cool morning, you see steam rising in pillars from the various springs and geysers -- it almost looks as if the land is on fire. In the foreground, a new foresst is sprouting up to take the place of an area that was deforested in one of Yellowstone's naturally-occurring fires, years before.

(023051)