Glamping with Abella Airstream: The Yellowstone/Grand Teton Adventure Summer 2011

Day Four

The Circle of Fire tour was the activity for the day. We boarded the big yellow school bus for the tour departing at 9:30 am. This tour traveled along the lower portion of Yellowstone's figure eight road system. The major sights include the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins, Yellowstone Lake, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, and Norris Geyser Basin.

West Thumb Geyser Basin is one of the smallest geyser basins in Yellowstone yet its location along the shore of Yellow-stone Lake ranks it as the most scenic. West Thumb derived its name from the thumb-like projection of Yellowstone Lake and the name was given by the 1870 Washburn Expedition. It was also known as Hot Spring Camp. West Thumb has less geyser activity than other basins. But West Thumb, for its size, has it all-hot springs, pools, mud pots, fumaroles and lake shore geysers.
Fishing Cone has been the most popular feature. Its unusual location along the lake shore and its symmetrical cone were popularized by early stories of "boiled trout." Abyss Pool is also noted for its depth and colors.

The Thumb Paint Pots are constantly changing. In the 1920s and 30s they were very extensive and active. Now they are less active but, depending on moisture, they still build mud cones.

Since the mid 1970s, West Thumb has decreased in thermal activity. Some temperatures have cooled in the basin allowing large colonies of algae and cyanobacteria to grow. As a result, large newly-formed microbial mats flourish on the run-off channels and along the edges of pools.
Second stop was Old Faithful. Old Faithful may be the world's most famous geyser. Members of the 1870 Washburn Expedition first noticed the geyser's regular eruptions, and gave it the name it bears today. Oddly enough, Old Faithful is neither Yellowstone's biggest geyser (Steamboat Geyser is) nor its most predictable, but it has name-brand recognition, and people like watching it so much that more than 85% of Yellowstone visitors stop by to see it go off.

The Lower Geyser Basin encompasses nearly 12 square miles, with most of the thermal features widely scattered in small groups. Some of the groups include the Fountain Group, Firehole Lake Group, White Dome Group, Great Fountain - White Creek Group, and the Imperial Group.

The Lower Geyser Basin possess a large variety of thermal features, including mud pots, geysers, pools, springs, and fumaroles. Great Fountain Geyser is one of the grand geysers in the Lower Geyser Basin. It erupts from a large, terraced platform with massive bursts exploding up to 150 feet high. White Dome Geyser does not have spectacular eruptive displays, but it does have one of the largest pink and white streaked cones in the Park.

The Fountain Group has a large cluster of multi-colored mud pots, and nearby in Pocket Basin is the largest collection of mud pots in Yellowstone. The Fountain Group also includes several spectacular geysers. Fountain, Morning, Clepsydra and Jet geysers dominate the group with periodic and colorful displays.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone: After the flat lands of Hayden Valley, hills rise up either side of the Yellowstone River, which flows over two large waterfalls and drops into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, one of the most spectacular canyons anywhere in America. Its walls are very steep - 700 feet almost vertical at the western end and up to 1,200 feet further east, and partially formed of jagged, eroded, chemically altered volcanic rocks of unusually bright colors - red, pink, orange and white. Most of the 20 miles of the Grand Canyon are out of sight since the surrounding land is too rough for roads or trails, but the upper 4 miles can be viewed from several overlooks along the north and south rims, and a number of trails. The views were spectacular.