Norris Geyser Basin-Yellowstone....

Yellowstone is a huge park, with many different sections, all of which have lots to be explored. The Norris Geyser Basin is another "other worldly" experience, with features you just don't see every day! For more information, click here

On the way to Norris from Madison, we followed the Gibbons River, then stopped to look at Gibbons Falls, another gem in Yellowstone. Everywhere you look there is something! 

Gibbons Falls

 We stopped along the way at hot springs right near the road, not too far from the waterfalls. Its an amazing road-with a little bit of everything. We also passed by Gibbons Meadow, and spotted buffalo and elk.

hot springs

dew...its a little early in the morning

more

Buffalo in Norris Basin area

We stopped again at the Artists Paint Pots, an area of hydrothermal features that look a little like paint pots! We walked along the boardwalk oohhhing and aahhhhing at the various features we saw. The colors in each feature varied a bit, and the mud pots were pretty active. The buffalo must move in on these cold nights, as there is a lot of buffalo poop nearby the hot springs.

its warm walking through here!

pretty meadow along the way

view from the top of the Artists Paint Pots boardwalk

so many colors

the mudpots are fascinating

just kept gurgling away

what a wild area!

lools a little like the Blue Lagoon in Iceland

a little more green...see, various paint pots!

Yes, I would definitely describe Norris Geyser Basin as other-wordly! In and amongst the meadows and forests, are the hottest geysers in Yellowstone. There are two sections to the Norris Geyser Basin. The Back Basin is through a forest trail, and the Porcelain Basin is the area with no vegetation at all. It looks like I would imagine another planet would look.

lots of beautiful features along in the Porcelain Basin

this looked like a steam locomotive -puffing the entire time

The colors are due to various minerals (iron, arsenic...). The lime green color is due to algae, and the cyanobacteria are orange and brown. Very colorful. Nature's art!

looks like a picture

that is LIME green!

The temperature can be gauged by the color, as the alga live in relatively cooler climes, and the thermophilic bacteria in hotter areas.

Lime Lime Lime!

lime green streaks

a bit of every color....shows various temps!

i think this one was the greenest

very pretty

There are signs all around this area warning of the dangerously hot water and steam, as well as the very fragile ground. Every where you looked there was something amazing. You could see the boiling water under the crust.

boiling water in the middle there

such clear boiling water

walking up the side of a hill

lots of little geysers going off

looks a little beach-y, doesn't it?

looks like white sand beaches and aqua blue water

looks like it could be a spa treatment

lovely Blue Lagoon blue color

Heading to the Back Basin, you can see the trail goes through forest and over some hills. The landscape is a lot different here.

nice walk through the forest

pretty view from the trail to the Back Basin

Some of the geysers  were always active, and some only went off intermittently (maybe even years between eruptions!).

constant eruption

boy does that look HOT

hard for me to tell a geyser from a hot spring without a sign

erupting

lots of hydrothermal features here

cave with hot spring and geyser

hot spring/cave 

looks like an infinity pool, doesn't it?

lots of colors-lots of bacteria and microorganisms involved

lots of color!

Interesting...looks like the earth is cracking around that little pool 

walking through a fantasy land

there was a forest fire here previously

i got the memo (dress in turquoise!)

mudpots right next to the hot spring

very active!

we didn't wait too long to see an eruption-could be a long wait!

The emerald green color is due to the sulfur lined cave (yellow) and the blue water in it. That's why we see it as green, or emerald.

so amazing