Volcanic
Saturday, July 5th, 2008
Fumarole Mudpots
Hot Spring Geyser
Fumaroles or steam vents are the hottest hydrothermal features in the Yellowstone. They have so little water that they all flash into steam before reaching the surface. They hiss and emit vapors rich in sulfuric acid that breaks rocks, turning it down into clay to form mud pots. Hot springs are the most common hydrothermal features. Due to their natural plumbing, and circulation called convection, they are prevented from erupting. Superheated water cools as it reaches the surface, then sinks, and is replaced by hotter water from below. Geysers on the other hand are a type of geothermal feature that erupt scalding hot water. Old Faithful is the most famous and goes up to over 100 feet. But it is hardly the most spectacular when compared with one like Steamboat Geyser, the world’s largest. The rangers at the park said that when Steamboat erupts, it roars like a tornado for hours and throws up a boiling plume over 380 feet, expelling over a million gallons of water. New Zealand and Iceland are known for geysers, but nowhere are there as many as in Yellowstone.
