Description: We stopped at the Visitors Centre - the lawn in front of which was littered by a herd of elk and various rangers were attempting to keep visitors at a safe distance which was no easy feat for them. We had a wander around the exhibits in the centre and watched the film they were showing, which was a good introduction to the national park, especially on the wildlife.
We walked the short distance up to the Hot Springs. First sight was the Liberty Cap, a large stone pillar which was apparently caused by a once active hot spring, though it looks just like a bit of stone but took hundreds of years to be formed. Beyond this you leave the road onto wooden boardwalks that are raised above the fragile ground beneath. There are quite a few different terraces of springs. Some are formations left by once active springs that have since stopped, though could become active again. Other formations show the continuing work of the hot waters from the springs. The process of rock formation is started by the calcium carbonate in the limestone interacting with carbon dioxide that is dissolved in the hot spring water, making a weak acid, which is dissolved but then deposited again on the surface to form interesting shapes as the spring water flows.
Canary Springs was still flowing, its name apparently due to thermophiles, which are microorganisms which love the hot water, the different colours are due to different thermophiles attracted to different temperature, with yellow thermophiles found in the hottest water. Walking down to Canary Springs you got to walk over on the boardwalk water running under the walkway - one could feel significant heat coming off it, though there were very clear warning signs to not touch the water. Equally throughout the site one could smell sulphur rising with the spring waters.
I did start to walk around the upper terraces, but there are great distances involved and you have to share the lane with traffic, so I gave up.
This was a fascinating place within the National Park, though not quite as exciting as the geysers elsewhere with their explosive power. It was more serene and calm. And unlike many of the other geothermal features, these somehow seemer tamer, and nearly make one forget that underlying Yellowstone is volcanic activity.
To be honest we spent about an hour and a half here, which gave plenty of time to explore the main terraces, though more time would be needed to go up to the Upper Terraces. There are plenty of facilities here. There is a shop, a hotel and plenty of restrooms, though I didn't give much time to these as I was too busy enjoying the actual features we came to see. I'm not sure I'd like to stay in the hotel it seems there is so much hustle and bustle about it being so close to one of the entrances and car parks for the hot springs, so that all visitors must walk past the hotel.
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