The Yellowstone River is divided into five reaches (labeled and color-coded): Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Tower–Gardner, and Mammoth. Monitoring stations (yellow dots on map) between each reach of the river reaches allow geochemists to measure river composition and then determine the sources of chloride (Cl) and other solu
Images
![Box diagram and map showing sources and fate of geothermal solutes in the Yellowstone River](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/solute%20figure.jpg?itok=b1PLo5nc)
The Yellowstone River is divided into five reaches (labeled and color-coded): Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Tower–Gardner, and Mammoth. Monitoring stations (yellow dots on map) between each reach of the river reaches allow geochemists to measure river composition and then determine the sources of chloride (Cl) and other solu
State-of-art, cavity-enhanced analyzer to help solve this long-standing technical problem in volcano science, adapted from an industrial instrument. The Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) yields a several kilometer path length for absorption. Contains two near-IR tunable diode lasers and is field portable, fast, and precise.
State-of-art, cavity-enhanced analyzer to help solve this long-standing technical problem in volcano science, adapted from an industrial instrument. The Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy (OA-ICOS) yields a several kilometer path length for absorption. Contains two near-IR tunable diode lasers and is field portable, fast, and precise.
![Mineral stability diagram showing minerals that are stable under changing temperature and dissolved silica concentrations that are found at and just beneath the floor of Yellowstone Lake](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/YLake%20Mineral%20stability.jpg?itok=E5glYbPY)
Mineral stability diagram showing minerals that are stable under changing temperature and dissolved silica concentrations at and just beneath the floor of Yellowstone Lake
linkMineral stability diagram showing minerals that are stable under changing temperature and dissolved silica concentrations that are found at and just beneath the floor of Yellowstone Lake. Two important points illustrated by this diagram are: (1) the minerals that are stable when reacted with vapor-dominated fluids (kaolinite, boehmite) differ substantially fro
Mineral stability diagram showing minerals that are stable under changing temperature and dissolved silica concentrations at and just beneath the floor of Yellowstone Lake
linkMineral stability diagram showing minerals that are stable under changing temperature and dissolved silica concentrations that are found at and just beneath the floor of Yellowstone Lake. Two important points illustrated by this diagram are: (1) the minerals that are stable when reacted with vapor-dominated fluids (kaolinite, boehmite) differ substantially fro
![Alkaline hot spring outflow channel in the Biscuit Basin with a wide array of phototrophic microbial community textures](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Figure%202%20phototroph%20textures.jpg?itok=8ZIpBcwp)
A wide array of phototrophic microbial community textures exhibited in an alkaline (pH ~8.5) hot spring outflow channel in the Biscuit Basin, including thick mats, toadstools, ropes, and pinnacles. The differences in color are due to pigments (chlorophylls, bacteriochlorophylls, and carotenoids) produced by phototrophic microorganisms.
A wide array of phototrophic microbial community textures exhibited in an alkaline (pH ~8.5) hot spring outflow channel in the Biscuit Basin, including thick mats, toadstools, ropes, and pinnacles. The differences in color are due to pigments (chlorophylls, bacteriochlorophylls, and carotenoids) produced by phototrophic microorganisms.
![Sapphire Pool, in the Biscuit Basin area of the Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/FIgure%201%20Sapphire%20Pool.jpg?itok=8eM3AKgh)
Sapphire Pool, an alkaline (pH ~7.5) spring in the Biscuit Basin area of the Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park.
Sapphire Pool, an alkaline (pH ~7.5) spring in the Biscuit Basin area of the Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park.
![Small acidic hot spring in the Gibbon Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Figure%203%20Goldilocks%20on%20the%20DL.jpg?itok=F7N4a-rm)
An unnamed small acidic (pH ~3) hot spring (with a temperature of about 55°C at the source) in the Gibbon Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. The yellow region is due to the precipitation of sulfur by sulfide-oxidizing chemotrophic microorganisms.
An unnamed small acidic (pH ~3) hot spring (with a temperature of about 55°C at the source) in the Gibbon Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. The yellow region is due to the precipitation of sulfur by sulfide-oxidizing chemotrophic microorganisms.
Alpine meadow near Two Ocean Pass on the Continental Divide just south of Yellowstone National Park.
Alpine meadow near Two Ocean Pass on the Continental Divide just south of Yellowstone National Park.
The Parting of the Waters, looking southeast. North Two Ocean Creek splits into Atlantic Creek, flowing to the left in the photo, and Pacific Creek, flowing to the right. The wooden sign indicates that it is 3,488 miles to the Atlantic Ocean and 1,353 miles to the Pacific Ocean.
The Parting of the Waters, looking southeast. North Two Ocean Creek splits into Atlantic Creek, flowing to the left in the photo, and Pacific Creek, flowing to the right. The wooden sign indicates that it is 3,488 miles to the Atlantic Ocean and 1,353 miles to the Pacific Ocean.
Photograph of permanent eddy covariance station installed since 2014 in area of volcanic CO2 emissions on Mammoth Mountain, California. USGS photo by Jennifer Lewicki, August 2019.
Photograph of permanent eddy covariance station installed since 2014 in area of volcanic CO2 emissions on Mammoth Mountain, California. USGS photo by Jennifer Lewicki, August 2019.
A closeup of the head and mouthparts of the wetsalts tiger beetle, a voracious predator in Yellowstone. Photo by Robert K. D. Peterson, 2019.
A closeup of the head and mouthparts of the wetsalts tiger beetle, a voracious predator in Yellowstone. Photo by Robert K. D. Peterson, 2019.
![Dead lodgepole pine trees with white bases ("bobby socks" trees") near the parking lot of Fountain Paint Pots in the Lower Geyser Basin](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Bobby_Socks_trees.jpg?itok=MTWQhXf_)
"Bobby socks" trees near the parking lot of Fountain Paint Pots in the Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
linkDead lodgepole pine trees near the parking lot of Fountain Paint Pots in the Lower Geyser Basin. The trees look as if they are wearing white socks; hence, the name, “bobby socks trees.” The dead trees soak up the silica-rich water, turning the lower portion of the trees white.
"Bobby socks" trees near the parking lot of Fountain Paint Pots in the Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park
linkDead lodgepole pine trees near the parking lot of Fountain Paint Pots in the Lower Geyser Basin. The trees look as if they are wearing white socks; hence, the name, “bobby socks trees.” The dead trees soak up the silica-rich water, turning the lower portion of the trees white.
![Images of snow algae and snow cyanobacteria on snow fields in the Beartooth Mountains of Wyoming and Montana](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Pink%20snow%20Beartooths%20images.jpg?itok=roKdbxmV)
Images of snow algae and snow cyanobacteria on snow fields in the Beartooth Mountains of Wyoming and Montana
linkImages of snow algae and snow cyanobacteria on snow fields in the Beartooth Mountains near the Beartooth Pass Summit (elevation 10,947 ft/3,368 m) on Highway 212. Top left shows a typical pink snow algae bloom on a patch of snow, and top right shows the snow algae bloom scraped off the snow surface with a rock hammer.
Images of snow algae and snow cyanobacteria on snow fields in the Beartooth Mountains of Wyoming and Montana
linkImages of snow algae and snow cyanobacteria on snow fields in the Beartooth Mountains near the Beartooth Pass Summit (elevation 10,947 ft/3,368 m) on Highway 212. Top left shows a typical pink snow algae bloom on a patch of snow, and top right shows the snow algae bloom scraped off the snow surface with a rock hammer.
![Geological time scale showing the geologic eons, eras, periods, epochs, and associated ages in millions of years ago (MYA)](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Geo-Time-Scale-FY17.jpg?itok=6-l7aIuk)
Geological time scale showing the geologic eons, eras, periods, epochs, and associated ages in millions of years ago (MYA)
linkGeologic time scale showing the geologic eons, eras, periods, epochs, and associated ages in millions of years ago (MYA). The time scale also shows major evolutionary and tectonic events in North America.
Geological time scale showing the geologic eons, eras, periods, epochs, and associated ages in millions of years ago (MYA)
linkGeologic time scale showing the geologic eons, eras, periods, epochs, and associated ages in millions of years ago (MYA). The time scale also shows major evolutionary and tectonic events in North America.
![Coring platform on the shore of Goose Lake, Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, in 2018](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/fig2_gooselake.jpg?itok=ftW1XU19)
Coring platform on the shore of Goose Lake, Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, in 2018
linkCoring platform assembled on the shore of Goose Lake, in Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, in 2018. Today, the nearest thermal features are 400 meters (about 1300 feet) away from Goose Lake, but thousands of years ago Goose Lake itself showed indications of being thermally active!. Steam from Midway Geyser Basin can be seen in the distance.
Coring platform on the shore of Goose Lake, Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, in 2018
linkCoring platform assembled on the shore of Goose Lake, in Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, in 2018. Today, the nearest thermal features are 400 meters (about 1300 feet) away from Goose Lake, but thousands of years ago Goose Lake itself showed indications of being thermally active!. Steam from Midway Geyser Basin can be seen in the distance.
![Hydrothermal sediment deposits from the Goose Lake (Yellowstone) sediment core](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/fig3_thermal_lith.png?itok=oS1wjBNH)
Hydrothermal sediment deposits from the Goose Lake sediment core, Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park. The orange sediment (left, scale in cm) consists mostly of fluorite, a common mineral in some hydrothermal deposits, but not usually found in lake sediments.
Hydrothermal sediment deposits from the Goose Lake sediment core, Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park. The orange sediment (left, scale in cm) consists mostly of fluorite, a common mineral in some hydrothermal deposits, but not usually found in lake sediments.
![Vertical motion at GPS station P350, in Idaho, together with nearby snowpack measurements](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/wrcr23760-fig-0001-m.jpg?itok=90m-bKVu)
Vertical motion at GPS station P350, in Idaho, together with nearby snowpack measurements (given as snow water equivalent). The GPS station moves downward as snowpack grows, and moves upward after it melts away. Taken from Knappe, et al., 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023289).
Vertical motion at GPS station P350, in Idaho, together with nearby snowpack measurements (given as snow water equivalent). The GPS station moves downward as snowpack grows, and moves upward after it melts away. Taken from Knappe, et al., 2018 (https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR023289).
![Vertical deformation and snow depth measured at a GPS site in central Idaho during 2010-2016](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/knappe_2018_figure.jpg?itok=FHSYRdp4)
Vertical ground motion (red line) measured at GPS site P350, in central Idaho, and snow depth (expressed as Snow Water Equivalent, or SWE; blue line) measured at a nearby SNOTEL site, during 2010-2016. The GPS station moved downward due to the increasing load of the accumulating snow during winter months, and then upward when the snow melted during summer months.
Vertical ground motion (red line) measured at GPS site P350, in central Idaho, and snow depth (expressed as Snow Water Equivalent, or SWE; blue line) measured at a nearby SNOTEL site, during 2010-2016. The GPS station moved downward due to the increasing load of the accumulating snow during winter months, and then upward when the snow melted during summer months.
Mushroom Pool, Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park.
Mushroom Pool, Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park.
River Styx, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. This thermal feature is actually a subterranean hot water creek that likely collects water discharged from Mammoth Hot Spring pools that, after cooling and outflowing from vents, tends to disappear back underground through the porous travertine.
River Styx, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park. This thermal feature is actually a subterranean hot water creek that likely collects water discharged from Mammoth Hot Spring pools that, after cooling and outflowing from vents, tends to disappear back underground through the porous travertine.
![Lower Geyser Basin, with Fountain and Clepsydra Geysers in eruption](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/LGB_Renkin_2018June7.jpg?itok=WFPKGCTL)
View of Lower Geyser Basin, with Fountain and Clepsydra Geysers in eruption, looking south towards Fountain Paint Pots. The vegetation in the photo is indicative of vegetation throughout much of Lower Geyser Basin—open grassland maintained by hot ground with patches of lodgepole pine.
View of Lower Geyser Basin, with Fountain and Clepsydra Geysers in eruption, looking south towards Fountain Paint Pots. The vegetation in the photo is indicative of vegetation throughout much of Lower Geyser Basin—open grassland maintained by hot ground with patches of lodgepole pine.
![Color photograph of scientists gathered](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/image%20%2811%29%20%281%29.jpg?itok=b_WWYwZ8)
Ed Brown (identified by white arrow) pictured with his HVO colleagues during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption
linkEd Brown (identified by white arrow, standing behind former USGS HVO Scientist-in-Charge Tina Neal) pictured with his HVO colleagues during the 2018 Kīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse when HVO staff were temporarily based at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Geology Department following the evacuation of the HVO building in Hawaiʻi Volcano
Ed Brown (identified by white arrow) pictured with his HVO colleagues during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption
linkEd Brown (identified by white arrow, standing behind former USGS HVO Scientist-in-Charge Tina Neal) pictured with his HVO colleagues during the 2018 Kīlauea lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit collapse when HVO staff were temporarily based at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Geology Department following the evacuation of the HVO building in Hawaiʻi Volcano