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Water flows in crisscrossing patterns down a steep ridge where colorful thermophiles create a changing palette dominated by hues of orange and brown.
You never know who or what you'll meet while walking a snowy boardwalk at Upper Geyser Basin.
If you take a winter snowcoach or snowmobile tour to Midway Basin and walk on the boardwalk around the edges of Grand Prismatic Spring, you'll notice paw and hoof prints on the shallow terraces of the hot spring. That white you see is not snow, but silica. The hot thermal waters hold silica in solution, and when the water cools, the silica precipitates out.
Soda Butte is a "travertine calcium carbonate mound formed more than a century ago by a hot spring. Only small amounts of hydrothermal water and hydrogen sulfide gas currently flow from this once more prolific spring." Sometimes, you can smell the sulfur in the atmosphere around Soda Butte.
You never know when serendipity will strike and you might see a lone wolf padding on the snowy road past your snowcoach.
Nothing says "Yellowstone" like an image of bison grazing on hilly land with tall, rugged, snow-dusted mountains in the background.
"This nearly constant performer splashes from several vents and its steam can be seen throughout the Lower Geyser Basin. Its name is Greek for water clock, and was given because the geyser used to erupt regularly every three minutes. Since the 1959 Hebgen earthquake, however, Clepsydra erupts almost without pause."
During the winter, all roads are closed to personal vehicles, except for the road between the north and northeast entrances. To see the wonders of such places as Porcelain Basin, visitors to the park can reserve a seat on a snowcoach or snowmobile tour.
"With temperatures that average temperate of 191.1°F (88.4°C), Crested Pool is almost constantly boiling, sometimes to 6 feet (2 m) or more. The extreme heat prevents most bacterial growth, resulting in exceptionally clear blue water. Boiling is particularly active along the intricate sinter formation circling the spring, the “crested” edge. Listen for the sizzling. Crested Pool has an average pH of 8.9 and an average conductivity of 2269 uS/cm."
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Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.
Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.
You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.
