WyomingScenic

The Wyoming Scenic section contains 200 images of scenery from Yellowstone and Grand Teton
National Parks, housed on five pages. This index page is an Overview with sample images from
each of the five section pages followed by a display composite which links to the relevant page.

Click an image to open a larger version.
Use your back button to return to this page.

Geothermal Scenery          Old Faithful Geyser Eruption          Assorted Yellowstone Scenic

Rivers and Waterfalls of Yellowstone          Grand Teton National Park

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Photoshelter Scenic Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

PhotoshelterGallerySection


Direct Links:

Yellowstone Geothermal Scenery                                   Grand Tetons

Geothermal Scenery     Old Faithful     Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Lamar Valley & Misc Scenics         Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces

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MidwayGeysers_FireholeRiver_0420_16x9


Midway Geysers Firehole River 0420 16x9

Geothermal steam rises above the Midway Geyser Basin off the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park.
The Midway Geyser Basin on the Firehole River contains two of Yellowstone's largest geothermal features:
Excelsior Geyser Crater and Grand Prismatic Spring, the largest hot spring in Yellowstone National Park.

ExcelsiorGeyser_FireholeRiver_0462


Excelsior Geyser Firehole River 0462

Steam rising above the Excelsior Geyser Crater, an inactive geyser that still manages to release
4500 gallons of 200 degree F. water per minute (6 million gallons per day) into the Firehole River.
When it was active between 1878 and 1890, eruptions would reach from 100 to 300 feet high. The
geyser awoke after 95 years for a 46 hour period in September 1985, with eruptions of 30-75 feet.

MudVolcano_HaydenValley_9092


Mud Volcano Hayden Valley 9092

Cracked mud surrounds craters in the mud pools, while sulphuric steam rises from waters which are
rimmed with brightly colored grasses stained by colonies of cyanobacteria in the Mud Volcano area.

PaletteSpring_MammothHS_6764


Palette Spring Mammoth Hot Springs 6764

Sunlight reflects off steam rising from the chromatic face of Palette Spring at Mammoth Hot Springs.

Palette Spring is named for the colorful hillside of amber, brown and orange caused by the presence
of different thermophilic (heat-loving) cyanobacteria. Water flows from the terraces above down a steep
ridge, depositing deep layers of travertine in several interesting and colorful patterns along the hillside.

CanarySpring_MammothHS_6720


Canary Spring Mammoth Hot Springs 6720

Located on the Main Terrace, Canary Spring is named for yellow sulfur-dependent filamentous bacteria
growing in the spring. Canary Spring is one of the most regularly active springs in the Main Terrace Group.

MainTerrace_MammothHS_6742


Main Terrace Mammoth Hot Springs 6742

A series of terracettes forming on the Main Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.
In flat areas like these, small pools form and travertine precipitates around the edge, holding the water in the
slowly rising pool. Algae forming in the groups of large scallop-shaped terracettes turn the water reddish-brown.

GeothermalScenery


Click the Display Composite above to visit the Yellowstone Geothermal Scenery page.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Photoshelter Scenic Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

PhotoshelterGallerySection


Direct Links:

Yellowstone Geothermal Scenery                                   Grand Tetons

Geothermal Scenery     Old Faithful     Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Lamar Valley & Misc Scenics         Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces

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OldFaithful_UpperGeyserBasin_0384


Old Faithful Upper Geyser Basin 0384

Steam rising from Old Faithful Geyser and other geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin.

Old Faithful Geyser was named by the Washburn Expedition in 1870 for its regular eruption schedule.
While this cone-shaped geyser does not erupt in exactly spaced intervals, its schedule is predictable.
Over the years, intervals have increased, possibly because of earthquakes affecting the subterranean
water levels. after the 1959 earthquake the interval became radically longer, gradually increasing with
later earthquakes. Intervals range from 35 to 120 minutes. Average interval was 66 minutes in 1939,
gradually increasing to a 92 minute average interval today. 90 percent of Old Faithful’s eruptions are
predictable within a plus-or-minus 10 minute window, based on the length of the previous eruption.

The longer an eruption lasts, the more heat and water are expended from the subterranean reservoir, requiring
more time to restore conditions required for eruption. Geyser geezers know to watch the crowds to determine
when an eruption is imminent. As the time approaches, people gather around the benches 300 feet away.

OldFaithful_Eruption_9600M


Old Faithful Eruption 9600 M

An Old Faithful eruption on a windy day. The sinter cone around the geyser vent is formed from silica
which has precipitated out of the volcanic rhyolite rock and deposited inside the walls of the conduit and
outside of the geyser vent, gradually forming a cone over time. The sinter deposited on the walls generally
forms constrictions near both ends of the vent. The constriction above the subterranean chamber constricts
water circulation, allowing pressure to build up. The constriction near the vent acts as a nozzle, creating a jet.

OldFaithful_atSunrise_0334


Old Faithful at Sunrise 0334

On a calm day, the boiling water of an eruption can be
obscured by the huge cloud of accompanying steam.

Old Faithful eruptions can throw 4000-8000 gallons of water between 106 and 184 feet high.
Old Faithful is fed from a large egg-shaped chamber about 50 feet underground which leads
to a pipe rising at a 24 degree angle towards the maw of the geyser. After an eruption, there
is a 15 minute recharge period when water flows back into the chamber. As steam bubbles
fill the chamber, they oscillate water in the conduit, eventually leading to a steam explosion.
This bubble trap is what causes the smaller eruptions before the major explosive eruption.

OldFaithful_Eruption_0540M


Old Faithful Eruption 0540 M

Old Faithful bursts into life on a day with enough wind to blow the steam
away from the erupting water, allowing for more attractive photographs.

OldFaithful_Eruption_0548M


Old Faithful Eruption 0548 M

Boiling water and steam rising more than 200 feet in the air over Old Faithful Geyser in
Upper Geyser Basin early one autumn morning in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Old_Faithful_Eruption_XXL


Old Faithful Eruption XXL

A 2000 x 685 version of the XXL Composite image (8276 x 2577)
showing a five shot sequence of an early morning Old Faithful eruption.

Old_Faithful


Click the Display Composite above to visit the Old Faithful Geyser page.

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Bison_LamarValley_0517


Bison Lamar Valley 0517

Bison browsing below a grove of Cottonwoods near Buffalo Ranch in the Lamar Valley.

The Lamar Buffalo Ranch was built in 1907 in an effort to increase the herd size
of the few remaining bison in Yellowstone to prevent the extinction of the species.
Although there were 30 to 60 million buffalo (American Bison) in North America in
the early 1800s, market hunting, poaching and the US Army slaughter campaign
designed to remove the food source for Indians to force them onto reservations
had reduced the population to 23 by 1902, all of which were in Pelican Valley.

The Pelican Valley herd and 71 Bison from Buffalo Ranch moved to central
Yellowstone in 1936 to form the Mary Mountain herd grew to the point
that by 1954, the central herd had expanded to 1300 individuals.

RoseCreek_Cottonwoods_LamarValley_0850


Rose Creek Cottonwoods Lamar Valley 0850

Cottonwoods in full autumn color beside Rose Creek at the Buffalo Ranch in the Lamar Valley.

The northern herd was created at Fort Yellowstone in 1902 using 18 females from Montana
and three males from Texas in an effort to avoid extinction of the species, and in 1907 these
28 Plains bison (including four new calves) were rounded up and moved to the Lamar Valley.

Buffalo Ranch was created to grow hay to feed these Plains bison which were brought in from
Montana and Texas to augment the Yellowstone herd. The bison grazed freely in summer and were
kept in corrals to help them survive the cold winters. In bad weather the bison were fed hay grown
next to the Lamar River. When their numbers increased, the Park Service culled the herd, and
the ranched bison were added to enhance the growing herd of wild bison. When the herd
had reached 1000 bison in 1952, the bison were released to the open range and some
were used to start or supplement other herds on public and tribal land. Buffalo Ranch
closed in 1952, and the few remaining buildings are used as a field campus by the
Yellowstone Association, where field seminars are held and students are lodged.

Cottonwoods_LamarValley_0852


Cottonwoods Lamar Valley 0852

Cottonwoods beside Rose Creek in the Lamar Valley in autumn.

Lamar Valley is near the northeast entrance to Yellowstone, and is home to
Bison, Pronghorn, Bears, Elk, Coyotes and Gray Wolves (reintroduced in 1995).

GrandCanyon_ofYellowstone_9107


Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone 9107

LowerFalls_ofYellowstone_0659


Lower Falls of the Yellowstone 0659

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Lower Falls on the Yellowstone River.

The Lower Falls of the Yellowstone at 309 feet tall is the largest volume waterfall in the Rocky Mountains.
The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is an erosional feature extending for 24 miles from the Upper Falls
down to Tower Fall, cutting through rhyolite lava flows from the supervolcano eruption 640,000 years ago.
The canyon is only 10,000-14,000 years old, caused when ice dams at the mouth of Yellowstone Lake
(which were formed at the end of the glacial period 14,000-18,000 years ago) melted and released
a series of massive flash floods which caused immediate and catastrophic erosion of the canyon.

OldFaithful_Inn_Yellowstone_8669


Old Faithful Inn Yellowstone 8669

Detail of one of the rustic balconies at Old Faithful Inn, built from curved and twisted Lodgepole Pine.
All logs, branches, and the unusual twisted brackets were acquired from trees 8 miles from Old Faithful.
The architect Reamer instructed his crews to search for oddly-shaped limbs of Lodgepole Pine, then
matched up sets with similar bends to make peculiar brackets which create a woodsy atmosphere.

YellowstoneLake_atSunset_1099


Yellowstone Lake at Sunset 1099

Bison grazing at sunset in autumn, beside the mouth of the Yellowstone River at Yellowstone Lake.

Sunset_overMadisonJunction_Yellowstone_1132


Sunset over Madison Junction Yellowstone 1132

Red-orange beams pass under the clouds as the sun hits the horizon beyond Madison Junction in autumn.

AssortedScenic


Click the Display Composite above to visit the Yellowstone Assorted Scenic page.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Photoshelter Scenic Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

PhotoshelterGallerySection


Direct Links:

Yellowstone Geothermal Scenery                                   Grand Tetons

Geothermal Scenery     Old Faithful     Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Lamar Valley & Misc Scenics         Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces

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KeplerCascades_FireholeRiver_8667


Kepler Cascades Firehole River 8667

Kepler Cascades is a series of falls on the Firehole River, about 2.5 miles south of Old Faithful. The cascades fall about 150 feet over multiple drops, the tallest of which is 50 feet.

GibbonFalls_Yellowstone_6031


Gibbon Falls Yellowstone 6031

Gibbon Falls is an 84 foot waterfall between Norris Geyser Basin and Madison Junction, where the Gibbon River drops over the Northern Escarpment into the Yellowstone Caldera.

LowerFalls_ofYellowstone_6311


Lower Falls of the Yellowstone 6311

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Lower Falls from a viewpoint to the right of Artist Point.
Offering an exceptional view of the Lower Falls, Artist Point juts out into the canyon from the south rim.

Many people think that this is the viewpoint where Thomas Moran made the sketches from which he
created his famous painting “Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone”, which was instrumental in convincing
Congress to establish Yellowstone as the first National Park. The painting was created from sketches
he had made from Moran Point, the viewpoint which was named for him on the 1871 Hayden Survey.

LowerFalls_ofYellowstone_0665


Lower Falls of the Yellowstone 0665

Lower Falls from Artist Point on the south rim.

LowerFalls_ofYellowstone_9101


Lower Falls of the Yellowstone 9101

Lower Falls from Lookout Point on the north rim.

Rapids_YellowstoneRiver_6258


Rapids Yellowstone River 6258

Rapids on the Yellowstone River below the Lower Falls, late winter in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

YellowstoneRiver_ChittendenBridge_0655


Yellowstone River Chittenden Bridge 0655

The Yellowstone River just upstream of Upper Yellowstone Falls, taken from the Chittenden Bridge.

The Chittenden Memorial Bridge is a 120 foot concrete and steel arch bridge on Artist’s Point Road
which crosses over the Yellowstone River to the viewpoints over the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
The existing bridge was built in 1962 to replace the original 1902 Melan Arch bridge by the park engineer
Hiram Chittenden to improve access to the canyon viewpoints. Before the original bridge was built, the
only access was by crossing the river at the narrows shown at right center in the image above. This
crossing led to Uncle Tom’s Trail, a rough trail created by “Uncle” Tom Richardson in 1898, who
led visitors on tours to the South Rim. The 1902 bridge was the first to provide road access.
It was replaced with the existing bridge to widen the road for modern automobile traffic.

LamarRiver_atSunrise_0678


Lamar River at Sunrise 0678

LamarRiver_atSunrise_0704


Lamar River at Sunrise 0704

The Lamar River at sunrise, taken a little over a mile past Crystal Creek near the entrance to the Lamar Valley.

RoseCreek_Cottonwoods_LamarValley_0504


Rose Creek Cottonwoods Lamar Valley 0504

Cottonwoods in full autumn color beside Rose Creek at the Buffalo Ranch in the Lamar Valley.

Rivers_Waterfalls


Click the Display Composite above to visit the Yellowstone Rivers and Waterfalls page.

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JacksonLake_MountMoran_GrandTetons_1364


Jackson Lake Mount Moran Grand Tetons 1364

Mount Moran looms over Jackson Lake in the early morning, with the rest of the Grand Teton Range
extending to the left of the image. At the far left are Grand Teton, Mount Owen and Teewinot Mountain.

ColterBay_JacksonLake_GrandTetons_1017


Colter Bay Jackson Lake Grand Tetons 1017

Mount Moran forms a backdrop to this image of a sailboat on Jackson Lake near Colter Bay.
John Colter was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-06, and in later explorations
during the winter of 1807-08, he was the first known person of European descent to enter the region
of Yellowstone National Park and to see the Teton Range. John Colter was the first mountain man.

John Colter traveled hundreds of miles through the area, alone in the dead of winter, with nighttime
temperatures of -30 degrees or lower. He passed by the shores of Jackson Lake and explored the
valley of Jackson Hole, crossed Teton Pass into Pierre’s Hole (later famous for the 1832 Rendezvous
of the mountain men of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company), then headed north and east to Yellowstone.
When he returned to Fort Raymond in March or April of 1808, nobody believed his stories of geysers,
bubbling mudpots and other geothermal features. They jokingly referred to the area as “Colter’s Hell”.

Cottonwoods_CathedralGroup_GrandTetons_1072_16x9


Cottonwoods Cathedral Group Grand Tetons 1072 16x9

The Cathedral Group looms over cottonwoods north of Schwabacher’s Landing in Grand Teton National Park.
Left to right are Buck Mountain, Mt. Winter, South Teton, Middle Teton, Grand Teton, Mt. Owen and Teewinot.

MorningFog_WillowFlats_GrandTetons_1322_16x9


Morning Fog Willow Flats Grand Tetons 1322 16x9

Morning fog over Willow Flats, with the Teton Range in the distance. On the left is the Cathedral Group,
including Grand Teton and Mount Owen, Middle Teton and South Teton, Teewinot Mountain and others,
most of which are over 12,000 feet, together representing 8 of the 10 highest peaks in the Teton Range.
In the center of the image are Mount St. John, Rockchuck Peak and Mount Woodring, and at the right is
Mount Moran, which is easily identified by the prominent landmark of Skillet Glacier on its eastern face.

MountMoran_MorningFog_GrandTetons_1355


Mount Moran Morning Fog Grand Tetons 1355

Morning fog over Willow Flats, with Mount Moran in the distance.
The prominent shape of Skillet Glacier dominates the eastern face.

Mount Moran was named for Thomas Moran, the artist whose paintings
of Yellowstone created from sketches made during the 1871 Hayden Survey
were critical to the creation of Yellowstone National Park. His first painting of the
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1872) was purchased by the government for the
enormous sum at the time of $10,000, and captured the imagination of the nation.

SnakeRiver_GrandTetons_1078


Snake River Grand Tetons 1078

The Snake River winds through the valley of Jackson Hole on its way west from Jackson Lake.
Grand Teton and Mount Owen are in the center distance. The historic Oregon Trail, laid out by fur
trappers and traders between 1811 and 1840, from the Platte River Valley in Nebraska, through the
Rocky Mountains and Tetons, along the Snake River to Idaho and on to the Columbia River in Oregon.

The Snake River is the largest tributary of the Columbia River. The region was home to numerous tribes
of Native Americans for 11,000 years. By the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Nez Perce and
Shoshone were the most powerful tribes in the region. A Shoshone hand sign for Fish was misinterpreted
to mean Snake, giving the river its name. John Colter was first European to see the Snake headwaters,
although various explorers including Meriwether Lewis had encountered and traveled the western parts
of the Snake River earlier. The Snake River became a critical waterway for the fur trappers and later,
as a part of the Oregon Trail, for hundreds of thousands of settlers traveling from the east to Oregon.

GrandTeton_MountOwen_1371


Grand Teton Mount Owen 1371

Grand Teton, Mount Owen and Teewinot, with Disappointment Peak at the far left.

Grand Teton, at 13,775 feet, is the highest peak in the Teton Range of the Rocky Mountains.
The naming of the mountain range is attributed to early French-speaking trappers in the area,
who named the breast-shaped peaks le trois tetons (three teats), and the largest Grand Teton.

Grand Teton was named Mount Hayden by the Washburn Expedition (1870), but the earlier
name persisted and it was adopted by the 1901 US Geological Survey map. There is a lot
of controversy regarding who first climbed the peak. Although it may have been climbed in
1872 by Nathaniel P. Langford (first superintendent of Yellowstone) and James Stevenson,
it was definitely climbed in 1898 by Franklin Spalding, William Owen, Frank Peterson and
John Shive. Based upon a description of the climb, it is likely that Langford and Stevenson
only reached the Enclosure, a small walled structure erected by Native Americans near the
Upper Saddle 455 feet below the peak, beyond which the climb becomes very difficult. In
fact, this section nearly killed Owen the year before in his second unsuccessful attempt.

The second tallest peak in the Teton Range (Mount Owen) was named for William O. Owen.
The controversy over who was the first to achieve the summit of Grand Teton is probably the
greatest in the history of American mountaineering, and it will most likely never be resolved.

GrandTetons


Click the Display Composite above to visit the Grand Teton National Park Scenic page.

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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Photoshelter Scenic Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

PhotoshelterGallerySection


Direct Links:

Yellowstone Geothermal Scenery                                   Grand Tetons

Geothermal Scenery     Old Faithful     Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
Lamar Valley & Misc Scenics         Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces

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YellowstoneNP


Click the Display Composite above to return to the Yellowstone section index page.

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