Old Faithful Geyser, as well as Old Faithful Inn and the Yellowstone National Park visitor center, as viewed from the lookout on Observation Point trail.
Images
Images related to Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
Old Faithful Geyser, as well as Old Faithful Inn and the Yellowstone National Park visitor center, as viewed from the lookout on Observation Point trail.
Old Faithful geyser visitor center, and visitor facilities as viewed from Observation point on August 18, 2019.
Old Faithful geyser visitor center, and visitor facilities as viewed from Observation point on August 18, 2019.
![Map of Yellowstone National Park showing locations of thermal basins that host hot springs, geysers, and mudpots.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/Hotspring%20figure%20%20from%20YNP%20IAVCEI%20Field%20Guide_SIR_2017_5022P.jpg?itok=8i6tMBr7)
Map of Yellowstone National Park showing locations of thermal basins that host hot springs, geysers, and mudpots. Dark green areas host alkaline-chloride fluids. Yellowstone Caldera margin shown as bold dashed line.
Map of Yellowstone National Park showing locations of thermal basins that host hot springs, geysers, and mudpots. Dark green areas host alkaline-chloride fluids. Yellowstone Caldera margin shown as bold dashed line.
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.
![hydrothermal alteration at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/hydrothermal%20alt.jpg?itok=Y4oliqa9)
Closeup of a wall of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone showing red, orange, and yellow mineral alternation, as well as white veins of silica, in the subsurface alteration zone of a former thermal basin.
Closeup of a wall of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone showing red, orange, and yellow mineral alternation, as well as white veins of silica, in the subsurface alteration zone of a former thermal basin.
![Two views showing the same type of rock one with and one without hydrothermal alteration](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/alterationscompare2.jpg?itok=rkoNb0I6)
Example of how the same rock type can look very different due to hydrothermal alteration. Left image is of the Lava Creek Tuff, which erupted during the formation of Yellowstone caldera 631,000 years ago, near Tower Junction.
Example of how the same rock type can look very different due to hydrothermal alteration. Left image is of the Lava Creek Tuff, which erupted during the formation of Yellowstone caldera 631,000 years ago, near Tower Junction.
![Alteration associated with mud pots in Yellowstone National Park.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/alterations%20compare.jpg?itok=MsjHzRsG)
Alteration associated with mud pots in Yellowstone National Park. Left image is an overview of Artist Paint Pots. Note the white kaolinite alteration in the lower right and the red/pink mud pots near the boardwalk. Right image is charcoal-gray mud from Mud Volcano consisting of kaolinite with fine-grained pyrite and other iron sulfide minerals.
Alteration associated with mud pots in Yellowstone National Park. Left image is an overview of Artist Paint Pots. Note the white kaolinite alteration in the lower right and the red/pink mud pots near the boardwalk. Right image is charcoal-gray mud from Mud Volcano consisting of kaolinite with fine-grained pyrite and other iron sulfide minerals.
Steamboat Geyser erupts in the golden light of sunrise on July 18th, 2019. The water-dominated part of a Steamboat eruption usually lasts anywhere from 3 to 90 minutes. Afterwards, a steam-dominated phase continues for many hours.
Steamboat Geyser erupts in the golden light of sunrise on July 18th, 2019. The water-dominated part of a Steamboat eruption usually lasts anywhere from 3 to 90 minutes. Afterwards, a steam-dominated phase continues for many hours.
![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.
![magnification of a zircon crystal that was analyzed for age dating of Yellowstone lava](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/zircon.jpg?itok=GCsLuIA9)
Sections of a zircon crystal, only 100 micrometers across, showing stages of the crystal's growth. Upper panel shows the outer surface of the crystal, which is 131,000 years old based on 238U-230Th dating. This is when the crystal stopped growing. Lower panel shows the interior of the same zircon crystal.
Sections of a zircon crystal, only 100 micrometers across, showing stages of the crystal's growth. Upper panel shows the outer surface of the crystal, which is 131,000 years old based on 238U-230Th dating. This is when the crystal stopped growing. Lower panel shows the interior of the same zircon crystal.
![Schematic diagram of Yellowstone's current magmatic system.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/magma.jpg?itok=B2z9uKtZ)
Schematic diagram of Yellowstone's current magmatic system. A silicic crystal-mush (gray region with white crystals) is thought to underlie the caldera at a depth of ~5 km to 15 km, with more mafic basalt (in black) underneath.
Schematic diagram of Yellowstone's current magmatic system. A silicic crystal-mush (gray region with white crystals) is thought to underlie the caldera at a depth of ~5 km to 15 km, with more mafic basalt (in black) underneath.
![Still image from 3D model of Lone Star Geyser, Yellowstone National Park](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/Image%202_3.jpg?itok=yrL82SKR)
Computer model of Lone Star Geyser constructed from multiple overlapping and scaled photographs and looking down into the geyser vent. This is a perspective that is only possible with images collected specifically to build a 3D model. Only the inner portion is obscured because in all the images, this area is continuously blanketed in opaque vapor.
Computer model of Lone Star Geyser constructed from multiple overlapping and scaled photographs and looking down into the geyser vent. This is a perspective that is only possible with images collected specifically to build a 3D model. Only the inner portion is obscured because in all the images, this area is continuously blanketed in opaque vapor.
![Scientists digging a hole in snow to install semipermanent GPS station Yellowstone](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/gpssnow.jpg?itok=lTxl2oCH)
USGS scientists Rebecca Kramer and Dan Dzurisin install a solar panel and GPS antenna (green square) at a semipermanent GPS station in the southern part of Yellowstone National Park. The work first required digging through 4 feet of snow!
USGS scientists Rebecca Kramer and Dan Dzurisin install a solar panel and GPS antenna (green square) at a semipermanent GPS station in the southern part of Yellowstone National Park. The work first required digging through 4 feet of snow!
![Porcelain Basin in Norris Geyser Basin Yellowstone](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/PANO_20190518_133053.vr_.jpg?itok=uff22qFa)
Porcelain Basin in Norris Geyser Basin on May 18, 2019.
Porcelain Basin in Norris Geyser Basin on May 18, 2019.
![Cistern Spring, Yellowstone National Park, both full and drained](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/Cistern.jpg?itok=Azq8zylH)
Photographs of Cistern Spring showing the draining behavior that occurs after major water eruptions of Steamboat Geyser. Left: about 2.5 hours after the onset of a major Steamboat eruption. Right: about 19.5 hours after that eruption.
Photographs of Cistern Spring showing the draining behavior that occurs after major water eruptions of Steamboat Geyser. Left: about 2.5 hours after the onset of a major Steamboat eruption. Right: about 19.5 hours after that eruption.
![Airborne images of Tern Lake, Yellowstone 1994 2006 2017](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/space%20thermal.jpg?itok=n-XpZ-KO)
High-spatial-resolution airborne images of the Tern Lake area from 1994, 2006, and 2017. The area of bright pixels identified in the Landsat-8 thermal infrared image corresponds to a newly emerging area of warm ground and tree kills about 32,500 m2 (8 acres, or 4 soccer fields) in area.
High-spatial-resolution airborne images of the Tern Lake area from 1994, 2006, and 2017. The area of bright pixels identified in the Landsat-8 thermal infrared image corresponds to a newly emerging area of warm ground and tree kills about 32,500 m2 (8 acres, or 4 soccer fields) in area.
![night time satellite image Tern Lake, Yellowstone](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/Landsat%20thermal.jpg?itok=SVuWSskC)
Landsat-8 nighttime thermal infrared image from April 2017 showing the Tern Lake area. In Yellowstone, temperatures are extremely cold at night in the winter, and most lakes are frozen (dark pixels). West Tern Lake seems to be thawing here - perhaps it receives some thermal waters from nearby hot springs.
Landsat-8 nighttime thermal infrared image from April 2017 showing the Tern Lake area. In Yellowstone, temperatures are extremely cold at night in the winter, and most lakes are frozen (dark pixels). West Tern Lake seems to be thawing here - perhaps it receives some thermal waters from nearby hot springs.
![Map of thermal areas in Yellowstone National Park](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/Thermal%20areas.jpg?itok=l1wmVhNf)
Map of thermal areas in Yellowstone National Park. Most of Yellowstone's more than 10,000 thermal features are clustered together into about 120 distinct thermal areas (shown in red). Lakes are blue. The Yellowstone Caldera is solid black and the resurgent domes are dotted black. Roads are yellow.
Map of thermal areas in Yellowstone National Park. Most of Yellowstone's more than 10,000 thermal features are clustered together into about 120 distinct thermal areas (shown in red). Lakes are blue. The Yellowstone Caldera is solid black and the resurgent domes are dotted black. Roads are yellow.
![NASA Yellowstone astrobiology team at Great Fountain Geyser](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/IMG_9940.jpg?itok=y3oxxVkG)
NASA Yellowstone astrobiology expedition team members stand in front of Great Fountain Geyser after completion of field work, February 28, 2019. Research conducted under Yellowstone Research Permit YELL-2019-SCI-8094.
NASA Yellowstone astrobiology expedition team members stand in front of Great Fountain Geyser after completion of field work, February 28, 2019. Research conducted under Yellowstone Research Permit YELL-2019-SCI-8094.