NORRIS GEYSER BASIN AND ARTIST PAINT POT- YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

A geyser  is a vent on Earth's surface that periodically ejects a column of hot water and steam. 

Geysers  have eruptions that blast thousands of gallons of boiling hot water up to a few hundred feet

 in the air. Norris Geyser Basin is  one of the most extreme environment on earth. It is located near

 the northwest edge of Yellowstone Caldera near the  Norris Junction and on the intersection of three

 major faults . ( A fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there

has been significant displacement as a result of rock mass movement ).

Norris  Basin is one of the most dynamic places in Yellowstone National Park.  It comprises of three

main areas: Porcelain Basin, Back Basin, and One Hundred Springs  Plain. Norris Geyser is named 
after an Yellow Stone Superintendent and is the hottest geyser basin  in Yellow Stone.  It is difficult
for plants and animals to survive in such acidic environment. The basin is really colorful due to the
 presence of many mineral oxides and bacteria known as thermophile .  Many acidic pools seen here
are  considered as the world's most oldest and hottest  pools.

Built  in 1929 - 1930, the Norris Museum is situated on a hill between the Porcelain Basin and the
Back Basin of Norris Geyser Basin. The 94-foot (29 m) by 20-foot (6.1 m) museum consists of two 

rectangular sections divided by the breezeway, which is roofed by a prominent jerkin head gable,

 framed in massive logs. The pavilions to either side are of shingle-covered frame construction on a 

massive stone base. A stone and concrete terrace surrounds the building.The museum exhibits focus

 on geothermal geology, features of Norris Geyser and plant and animal life in thermal areas.

Norris Geyser Basin provides two easy ways to explore: the Porcelain Basin Trail and the 
Steamboat/Echinus Geyser Trail.  It  provide a safe route for viewing the Porcelain Basin and Back
Basin. Porcelain Basin is open terrain with hundreds of densely packed geothermal features 
while Back Basin is forested and its features are more scattered and isolated .

Porcelain Basin presents a beautiful but desolate visage which is unlike any of the other geyser

basins in Yellowstone . The name Porcelain basin  was inspired by the  milky color of the mineral

deposited here. The mineral, siliceous sinter also known as geyserite is brought to the surface by

hot water and forms a "sheet" over this flat area.

The landscape of Porcelain basin is stark and barren which is the result of acidic  environment.

The  basin is characterized by  lack of vegetation. No plants can live in this hot, acidic, water

 emitted from the numerous thermal features in the basin. 

Porcelain Basin consist of Black Growler steam vent, Ledge Geyser, Congress Pool, Hot Springs,

 Blue Geysers, Whirligig geyser, Colorful water, Whale's mouth and Crackling lake . The water in 

Norris area is really acidic .The difference in pH allows for a different class of bacterial thermophiles

(bacteria) to live at Norris, creating different color patterns in and around the Norris Basin waters .

The Porcelain basin trail takes you to an incredible world of  clear blue springs and  passes through
  a thin strand of  trees and loops around . The blue pools are saturated with silica, which is the
 primary component of glass. Norris's thermal waters contain the highest concentration of silica in Yellowstone. 

Back basin is full of surprising sites, sounds and smells. It is alive with heats and gases from Yellow

 Stone volcano beneath. With full of geysers and hot springs tucked among trees,  Yellowstone

 volcano is very much alive  here. Back Basin is the lengthier trail at Norris Geyser Basin.  It includes

 Emerald Spring, Steamboat Geyser, Cistern Spring, Echinus Geyser, Green Dragon Spring,

Porkchop Geyser and Minute Geyser .

One of the notable attraction at Back Basin is Emerald Spring which is a clear blue pool. The water

here  absorbs all other colors of sunlight except blue which is clear case of refraction. The 27-foot

 (8 meter) deep pool is lined with yellow sulfur deposits. The yellow color from the sulfur combines

with the reflected blue light, making the hot spring appear a magnificent emerald green.

The largest geyser in the world steam boat geyser is also located at Back basin. When it erupts the
 water jet reaches a height of  380 ft in a spectacular display. Steamboat has an erratic and lengthy 
timetable  between major eruptions.Steamboat erupts over 300 feet (90 m) into the air. It  does not lie
 dormant between eruptions, instead display minor eruptions of approximately 40 feet (12 m).

Cistern Spring and Steamboat Geyser are linked underground. During a major eruption of Steamboat,

 the water in Cistern Spring's pool drains. Normally, Cistern is a beautiful blue pool from which water

 continually overflows. Cisterns spring's brown, green and orange color represents species of visible  algae and bacteria.

The Ragged Hills that lie between Back Basin and One Hundred Springs Plain are thermally altered
 glacial kames.The hottest of Yellowstone's geothermal features are steam vents (fumaroles). Sulfuric
 acid, steam and gases escape through vents in ground which create a barren and unsafe ground called
Solfatara. Here  scalding mud and steam are barely covered by hot crumbling decomposing rock.

One hundred spring Plain is an  off-trail section of Norris Geyser Basin. It  is flat,

 sandy, and extremely dangerous.Much of the underlying ground is hollow and many of the thermal

features are acidic. Most of the hot springs in this area have never been named. Cinder Pool, once

called Verma Spring, is a remote and isolated feature on the  One hundred Spring Plain.

Nuphar Lake is situated along the trail between Porcelain Basin and Norris Campground. There is
another lake called Crackling lake can be found at Norris Basin.The name of this thermal feature was
 proposed by Ed Leigh in 1967 because of popping sounds from nearby springs on its southern shore.

North of Norris is Roaring Mountain. It  is a large, acidic hydro thermal area (solfatara) with many

fumaroles. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the number, size, and power of the fumaroles

were much greater than today. The fumaroles are most easily seen in the cooler, low-light conditions

 of morning and evening.

Artist Paint Pot is  located at Madison at a distance of 4.4 miles south of  Norris Basin.  It  is on  the
midway between  Old Faithful and the Norris Geyser basin.  This small hydro thermal area offers an
array of thermal features including colorful hot  springs and two large mud pots.

A one-mile round trip trail through Artist's Paint Pot took visitors through a section of forest burned
 in 1988. The Artist's Paint Pots trail is so full of vibrant colors, comparable only to an artist's palette.
 Adjacent to this area are three other off-trail, back country thermal areas: Sylvan Springs, Gibbon
 Hill Geyser Basin, and Geyser Creek.

Rainbow colors, hissing steam, and pungent odors  greet your senses at  Norris Basin. These thermal 
areas pulsates from steam and boiling water beneath the surface a feature which appear and
 disappear often . Many of the remote  areas at Norris Basin are fragile, dangerous,and difficult.
 Traveling to remote areas in thermal areas without the aid of knowledgeable  personnel is discouraged.

Location: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Managed by National Park Service,

Phone: (307) 344-7381

Camera Used: Canon EOS rebel

Warning about GPS Systems! Vehicle Navigation Systems and GPS units may provide inaccurate information—sending drivers the wrong way on one-way roads, leading them to dead ends in remote areas, or sending them on roads which are closed at certain times of year. Make sure to use park road maps available at entrance stations.
Trailhead address: Grand Loop Road & Norris Canyon Road, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190

.