Exit78 Photo of the Day #138
There are a very large number of thermal features in Yellowstone. Given the recent seismic and volcanic events in Hawaii, it’s only natural that people wonder about the super-volcano that lies beneath the park. Many of the features have changed over the years as a result of seismic activities, including Seismic Pool, a 167°F – or so – thermal feature in West Thumb Geyser Basin.
Seismograph Pool, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, August 4, 2010 (Pentax K10D)
“Seismograph and Bluebell pools used to be known as the “Blue Pools.” After the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake, which measured 7.5 on the Richter scale, the pools were renamed. At West Thumb, no one recorded the nature of the changes caused by the quake, but perhaps someone thought Seismograph Pool somehow “registered” the earthquakes. These days, Seismograph is sometimes muddy, but not from earthquakes. The mud comes from the runoff of nearby mud pots.”1
(Note: I am also posting photos in a series called Photography Now & Then at Haw-Creek.com)
Endnotes:
- Seismograph Pool, Montana State University, accessed May 17, 2018
Series notes:
- The photos in this series are (usually) randomly selected from a batch of photos specifically “curated” for Exit78 Photo of the Day.
- Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
