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Under construction
Mammoth to Norris Travelling along the road to Norris Geyser Basin, we are paralleling the Norris-Mammoth corridor of faults which intersects with the east-west Hebgen fault system and fractures associated with the caldera faults itself. The Norris-Mammoth corridor may be a path by which waters from the Gallatin Mountain snow melts move to the Norris Geyser Basin itself. Along the road, we pass a small lake (filled with hydrothermal features) called Nymph Lake. On the northern shore, a new fumarole has formed this Spring - it can be seen in the vapors emitting and the death of the trees that had the misfortune to grow next to where the earth suddenly opened and began emitting very high levels of gases such as carbon dioxide (which is probably killing the trees). Norris Geyser Basin (or Mordor) I truly expected to find Orcs (or Hobbits?) in our wanderings in the backcountry around Norris Geyser Basin as Peter Jackson could have used this area for film shots of how Mordor must have looked. Walking in on the Board walk we see the green colors of cyanobacteria which survive in waters of up to 163F (73C). Above that temperature, other forms of life succeed including non-photosynthetic bacteria (heterotrophs), and Archaea (hyperthermophiles). The thermal features vary widely in pH from acidic to alkaline. This contrasts with the features near Old Faithful which are generally quite alkaline in pH. The bedrock soil in Norris Basin is Lava Creek Tuff. Cyanobacteria in Heated Water runoff (by Norris Geyser Basin boardwalk)
Geyserite in Hot Spring After leaving the Boardwalk (escorted by NPS folks), we first visited a hot water spring that is being monitored for water levels, temperature, etc. Water levels had dropped during the previous 5 days from when our intrepid instructor had last visited this hot spring, the shelves indicate that water had been previously 7-8 inches higher. The temperatures of this water (somewhat near the surface) are about 70C to 80C which allows Archaea bacteria to live in this hot spring. NASA has research going on in these kind of hot springs to understand how life behaves in extreme environments such as those found within the beltway. This pioneering work is part of the NASA extra-terrestrial life studies efforts. Further the Park has entered into some agreements with bio-tech companies who are seeking novel life forms that could be adapted to use in industrial or medical applications. This is particularly true in light of new gene adaptation technologies. The high siliceous content of the water in the hot pools can petrify twigs, insects, dragonflies, etc. very quickly if they fall into the pool.
Backcountry in Norris Geyser Basin - "Hundred Springs Plain" Leaving the first area off the boardwalk we now head into the real backcountry around Norris Geyser Basin - a land I like to think of as Mordor. Along the way, Paul notices the lack of arrow heads made from Obsidian glass - they used to be common in this area but they have apparently walked off in recent years. The Native Americans followed the big game in the winter which would come to this area to find exposed grass (the heat would melt the snow). The Obsidian came from the Obsidian Cliffs along the highway back toward Mammoth. Pieces of the obsidian from Yellowstone have been found as far east as Missouri.
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