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Hoof And Paw Prints On The Shallow Terraces Of Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

white paw and hoof prints on the shallow terraces of Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park
Rebecca Latson
Monday, March 28, 2022

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.

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