In June of 2006 I made my first ever trip to Yellowstone National Park. Being rather interested in Science and the things that cause Yellowstone to be what it is I was amazed at the natural colors and effects that are produced within the park. I entered the park from the North after driving from Bozeman, Montana through Paradise Valley. The first formation I saw was Minerva Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs, which although rather simple and quiet is one of the overall larger formations in the park.
When I arrived at the first hot spring I was amazed at the clarity and color of the pool as well as the emmense heat that billowed from the mostly calm water. Soon after that I came across Gibbon Falls which lies on a fault line creating the beautiful stair like falls.
When I arrived at the West Thumb Geyser Basin the magnificant colors of the pools and water running over the land immediately grabbed my attention. Most intreguing was the Black Pool which wasn't so Black. However it's neighbor the Abyss Pool was the darker of the two at the time and appeared to live up to its name.
I then ventured on to Hayden Valley with it's abundant wildlife and open prarie like feel. This was soon followed by the Upper Falls and the magnificant Lower Falls. This is one of the most spectacular parts of the park with the massive stair case that leads you down near the falls, the distant overlooks that allow you to see the falls from a distance and travel down the Yellowstone Grand Canyon, and the awesome ability to stand at the brink of the falls.
Finally, I headed back up to the north of the park near Tower Falls were there was a wonderful view of the Yellowstone River. The final shot in this gallery is as I was heading back to Denver, Colorado and is a picture of Yellowstone from the air. Although this image is faint, you can make out Yellowstone Lake including the West Thumb in the upper left part of the lake. Also, below the pointed cloud in the middle of the image are the snow capped Grand Teton Mountains.
