Old Faithful is a cone geyser located in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States. It was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and was the first geyser in the park to receive a name. It is a highly predictable geothermal feature, and has erupted every 44 to 125 minutes since 2000. The geyser and the nearby Old Faithful Inn are part of the Old Faithful Historic District.
The geothermal areas of Yellowstone include several geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park as well as other geothermal features such as hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. The number of thermal features in Yellowstone is estimated at 10,000. A study that was completed in 2011 found that a total of 1,283 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone, 465 of which are active during an average year. These are distributed among nine geyser basins, with a few geysers found in smaller thermal areas throughout the Park. The number of geysers in each geyser basin are as follows: Upper Geyser Basin (410), Midway Geyser Basin (59), Lower Geyser Basin (283), Norris Geyser Basin (193), West Thumb Geyser Basin (84), Gibbon Geyser Basin (24), Lone Star Geyser Basin (21), Shoshone Geyser Basin (107), Heart Lake Geyser Basin (69), other areas (33). Although famous large geysers like Old Faithful are part of the total, most of Yellowstone's geysers are small, erupting to only a foot or two. The hydrothermal system that supplies the geysers with hot water sits within an ancient active caldera. Many of the thermal features in Yellowstone build up sinter, geyserite, or travertine deposits around and within them.
The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 692 miles (1,114 km) long, in the western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, the river and its tributaries drain a wide area stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of Yellowstone National Park across the mountains and high plains of southern Montana and northern Wyoming.
The cutthroat trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii) is a fish species of the family Salmonidae native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains, and Great Basin in North America. As a member of the genus Oncorhynchus, it is one of the Pacific trout, a group that includes the widely distributed rainbow trout. Cutthroat trout are popular gamefish, especially among anglers who enjoy fly fishing. The common name "cutthroat" refers to the distinctive red coloration on the underside of the lower jaw. The specific name clarkii was given to honor explorer William Clark, coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park is the largest hot spring in the United States, and the third largest in the world, after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and Boiling Lake in Dominica. It is located in the Midway Geyser Basin.
The Firehole River is located in northwestern Wyoming, and is one of the two major tributaries of the Madison River. It flows north approximately 21 miles (34 km) from its source in Madison Lake on the Continental Divide to join the Gibbon River at Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park. It is part of the Missouri River system.
Emerald Spring is a hot spring located in Norris Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park.
Azure Spring is a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. The water temperature in the spring is 79 °C (174 °F).
Big Alcove Spring is a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park in the United States. In 1996 the water temperature was 92.4 °C (198.3 °F).
Crawfish Creek is a short stream in Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. state of Wyoming This watercourse is known for its unusually warm temperatures compared to other surface water bodies in Wyoming; these elevated temperatures enable crawfish to thrive in the water. Summer water temperatures are in the range of 22 to 24 degrees Celsius; pH levels are typically about 9.1, or somewhat alkaline. The warm waters come from a southern portion of the Yellowstone volcanic zone which produces hot water from hot springs and fumaroles in the area. The stream feeds into the Lewis River just south of the Lewis River Canyon and just before the Lewis River converges with the Snake River.
The Grand Loop Road Historic District encompasses the primary road system in Yellowstone National Park. Much of the 140-mile (230 km) system was originally planned by Captain Hiram M. Chittenden of the US Army Corps of Engineers in the early days of the park, when it was under military administration. The Grand Loop Road provides access to the major features of the park, including the Upper, Midway and Lower geyser basins, Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Fall, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Lake.
The following articles relate to the history, geography, geology, flora, fauna, structures and recreation in Yellowstone National Park.
Spasmodic Geyser is a geyser located in the Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
Doublet Pool is a hot spring in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
Opal Pool is a hot spring in the Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Opal Pool usually has a temperature of approximately 132 °F (56 °C). Though usually active as a hot spring, Opal Pool is considered a fountain-type geyser.
Turquoise Pool is a hot spring in the Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Turquoise Pool has a temperature between 142 and 160 °F and was named by members of the Hayden Expedition of 1878.
Belgian Pool is a hot spring in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Originally named Oyster Spring, it was renamed after a visitor from Belgium fell into it in 1929 with fatal results. The spring is less hot than other features in the area, at about 180 °F (82 °C), but still sufficiently hot for severe thermal burns. References to a "Belgian Geyser" in the 1930s may refer to this feature.
A steam devil is a small, weak whirlwind over water that has drawn fog into the vortex, thus rendering it visible.
