YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: OUT OF THE ASHES
Bison and wolves roam this wonderland of mountains, waterfalls and plains. Feeding the hot springs of the Yellowstone national park in Montana is one of Earth’s largest supervolcanoes — and it’s still active
Disgruntled at the early hour, you pull on thermals and trudge out into the pitch- black night.
Joining your wolf-watching group by the side of a road, you wait, shivering, hoping that the grey beasts will make it worth your while. As dawn tinges the horizon a hazy yellow, a lone howl breaks the stillness. It is followed by another, and another, until the whole pack is serenading the dawn.
After an hour or so, a couple of wolves eventually trot into view, still way off in the distance. Through the guide’s scope, you follow one wolf as it leaps into the river, then bounds across the marshland to feast on the remains of an elk kill. Away from the hordes of tourists that you jostled next to yesterday, you realise there is so much more to this incredible landscape than the hot springs and fountain-like geysers.
Supervolcano menace
Perched around 2,400m above sea level, Yellowstone National Park covers 8,992 sq km. It sits on the caldera of the largest supervolcano in the Americas, which is considered to still be active today. Hence the many geothermal features, including more than 300 geysers and 10,000 hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots.
The supervolcano has erupted violently a number of times over the past two million years, releasing vast amounts of ash that blanketed much of central North America, probably causing the extinction of some species and affecting world weather patterns.
The current caldera formed after a huge plume of magma rose up through the crust, the increased pressure cracking the surface and firing out lava. With the magma chamber emptied, the crustal roof collapsed down, forming a huge crater.
In recent years, the supervolcano has kept a low profile, with volcanic activity staying relatively constant since scientists first started monitoring it more than three decades ago. If a catastrophic eruption was about to happen, there would be stronger earthquakes and sudden ground deformation at locations around the park in the preceding weeks.
Despite the scaremongering, the scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory believe that a volcanic eruption in Yellowstone is very unlikely in the next 1,000 or even 10,000 years.
Old Faithful
Melting snow and ice creep down through cracks in the porous mountain rocks of Yellowstone. On meeting salty water heated by the volcano’s magma chamber, the heavier cold water sinks, while the hot water rises to the surface, bubbling out through cracks in the hot springs and exploding through geysers. Steamboat is the world’s tallest active geyser and has been known to fire water 90m into the air. Old Faithful lives up to its name by faithfully erupting on average 17 times a day, spurting 95°C water over 30m high. It’s not completely predictable — visitors can wait between one and two hours to see it. However, the longer the wait, the longer the eruption will last.
Yellowstone Airport, adjacent to the national park in West Yellowstone, Montana, is usually open from June to September. The closest year-round airports are in Cody (83km east), Jackson (90km south), Bozeman (105km north) and Idaho Falls (172km southwest). It’s often cheaper to fly into Salt Lake City (628km south, in Utah) or Denver (906km south, in Colorado), and then rent a car. No public transport exists within Yellowstone National Park. During summer, commercial buses operate from Jackson and Cody, while buses run to West Yellowstone and Gardiner from Bozeman year-round.
Drive 45 minutes south to discover the less-crowded Grand Teton National Park, with its jagged mountain peaks and translucent lakes. Further afield, drive eight hours east to the Black Hills of South Dakota to marvel at the rock sculptures of Mt Rushmore and the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial. Or drive 14 hours south to Arizona and the epic Grand Canyon, and visit nearby Bryce Canyon National Park, with its bizarre geological shapes and spires known as ‘hoodoos’.
Bison and wolves roam this wonderland of mountains, waterfalls and plains. Feeding the hot springs of the Yellowstone national park in Montana is one of Earth’s largest supervolcanoes — and it’s still active
Jheni Osman
Disgruntled at the early hour, you pull on thermals and trudge out into the pitch- black night.
Joining your wolf-watching group by the side of a road, you wait, shivering, hoping that the grey beasts will make it worth your while. As dawn tinges the horizon a hazy yellow, a lone howl breaks the stillness. It is followed by another, and another, until the whole pack is serenading the dawn.
After an hour or so, a couple of wolves eventually trot into view, still way off in the distance. Through the guide’s scope, you follow one wolf as it leaps into the river, then bounds across the marshland to feast on the remains of an elk kill. Away from the hordes of tourists that you jostled next to yesterday, you realise there is so much more to this incredible landscape than the hot springs and fountain-like geysers.
Supervolcano menace
Perched around 2,400m above sea level, Yellowstone National Park covers 8,992 sq km. It sits on the caldera of the largest supervolcano in the Americas, which is considered to still be active today. Hence the many geothermal features, including more than 300 geysers and 10,000 hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots.
The supervolcano has erupted violently a number of times over the past two million years, releasing vast amounts of ash that blanketed much of central North America, probably causing the extinction of some species and affecting world weather patterns.
The current caldera formed after a huge plume of magma rose up through the crust, the increased pressure cracking the surface and firing out lava. With the magma chamber emptied, the crustal roof collapsed down, forming a huge crater.
In recent years, the supervolcano has kept a low profile, with volcanic activity staying relatively constant since scientists first started monitoring it more than three decades ago. If a catastrophic eruption was about to happen, there would be stronger earthquakes and sudden ground deformation at locations around the park in the preceding weeks.
Despite the scaremongering, the scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory believe that a volcanic eruption in Yellowstone is very unlikely in the next 1,000 or even 10,000 years.
Melting snow and ice creep down through cracks in the porous mountain rocks of Yellowstone. On meeting salty water heated by the volcano’s magma chamber, the heavier cold water sinks, while the hot water rises to the surface, bubbling out through cracks in the hot springs and exploding through geysers. Steamboat is the world’s tallest active geyser and has been known to fire water 90m into the air. Old Faithful lives up to its name by faithfully erupting on average 17 times a day, spurting 95°C water over 30m high. It’s not completely predictable — visitors can wait between one and two hours to see it. However, the longer the wait, the longer the eruption will last.
Yellowstone Airport, adjacent to the national park in West Yellowstone, Montana, is usually open from June to September. The closest year-round airports are in Cody (83km east), Jackson (90km south), Bozeman (105km north) and Idaho Falls (172km southwest). It’s often cheaper to fly into Salt Lake City (628km south, in Utah) or Denver (906km south, in Colorado), and then rent a car. No public transport exists within Yellowstone National Park. During summer, commercial buses operate from Jackson and Cody, while buses run to West Yellowstone and Gardiner from Bozeman year-round.
Drive 45 minutes south to discover the less-crowded Grand Teton National Park, with its jagged mountain peaks and translucent lakes. Further afield, drive eight hours east to the Black Hills of South Dakota to marvel at the rock sculptures of Mt Rushmore and the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial. Or drive 14 hours south to Arizona and the epic Grand Canyon, and visit nearby Bryce Canyon National Park, with its bizarre geological shapes and spires known as ‘hoodoos’.
Bison and wolves roam this wonderland of mountains, waterfalls and plains. Feeding the hot springs of the Yellowstone national park in Montana is one of Earth’s largest supervolcanoes — and it’s still active
Disgruntled at the early hour, you pull on thermals and trudge out into the pitch- black night.
Joining your wolf-watching group by the side of a road, you wait, shivering, hoping that the grey beasts will make it worth your while. As dawn tinges the horizon a hazy yellow, a lone howl breaks the stillness. It is followed by another, and another, until the whole pack is serenading the dawn.
After an hour or so, a couple of wolves eventually trot into view, still way off in the distance. Through the guide’s scope, you follow one wolf as it leaps into the river, then bounds across the marshland to feast on the remains of an elk kill. Away from the hordes of tourists that you jostled next to yesterday, you realise there is so much more to this incredible landscape than the hot springs and fountain-like geysers.
Supervolcano menace
Perched around 2,400m above sea level, Yellowstone National Park covers 8,992 sq km. It sits on the caldera of the largest supervolcano in the Americas, which is considered to still be active today. Hence the many geothermal features, including more than 300 geysers and 10,000 hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots.
The supervolcano has erupted violently a number of times over the past two million years, releasing vast amounts of ash that blanketed much of central North America, probably causing the extinction of some species and affecting world weather patterns.
The current caldera formed after a huge plume of magma rose up through the crust, the increased pressure cracking the surface and firing out lava. With the magma chamber emptied, the crustal roof collapsed down, forming a huge crater.
In recent years, the supervolcano has kept a low profile, with volcanic activity staying relatively constant since scientists first started monitoring it more than three decades ago. If a catastrophic eruption was about to happen, there would be stronger earthquakes and sudden ground deformation at locations around the park in the preceding weeks.
Despite the scaremongering, the scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory believe that a volcanic eruption in Yellowstone is very unlikely in the next 1,000 or even 10,000 years.
Old Faithful
Melting snow and ice creep down through cracks in the porous mountain rocks of Yellowstone. On meeting salty water heated by the volcano’s magma chamber, the heavier cold water sinks, while the hot water rises to the surface, bubbling out through cracks in the hot springs and exploding through geysers. Steamboat is the world’s tallest active geyser and has been known to fire water 90m into the air. Old Faithful lives up to its name by faithfully erupting on average 17 times a day, spurting 95°C water over 30m high. It’s not completely predictable — visitors can wait between one and two hours to see it. However, the longer the wait, the longer the eruption will last.
Getting there
Yellowstone Airport, adjacent to the national park in West Yellowstone, Montana, is usually open from June to September. The closest year-round airports are in Cody (83km east), Jackson (90km south), Bozeman (105km north) and Idaho Falls (172km southwest). It’s often cheaper to fly into Salt Lake City (628km south, in Utah) or Denver (906km south, in Colorado), and then rent a car. No public transport exists within Yellowstone National Park. During summer, commercial buses operate from Jackson and Cody, while buses run to West Yellowstone and Gardiner from Bozeman year-round.
While you’re there
Drive 45 minutes south to discover the less-crowded Grand Teton National Park, with its jagged mountain peaks and translucent lakes. Further afield, drive eight hours east to the Black Hills of South Dakota to marvel at the rock sculptures of Mt Rushmore and the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial. Or drive 14 hours south to Arizona and the epic Grand Canyon, and visit nearby Bryce Canyon National Park, with its bizarre geological shapes and spires known as ‘hoodoos’.
Out of the ashes
Bison and wolves roam this wonderland of mountains, waterfalls and plains. Feeding the hot springs of the Yellowstone national park in Montana is one of Earth’s largest supervolcanoes — and it’s still active
Jheni Osman
Disgruntled at the early hour, you pull on thermals and trudge out into the pitch- black night.
Joining your wolf-watching group by the side of a road, you wait, shivering, hoping that the grey beasts will make it worth your while. As dawn tinges the horizon a hazy yellow, a lone howl breaks the stillness. It is followed by another, and another, until the whole pack is serenading the dawn.
After an hour or so, a couple of wolves eventually trot into view, still way off in the distance. Through the guide’s scope, you follow one wolf as it leaps into the river, then bounds across the marshland to feast on the remains of an elk kill. Away from the hordes of tourists that you jostled next to yesterday, you realise there is so much more to this incredible landscape than the hot springs and fountain-like geysers.
Supervolcano menace
Perched around 2,400m above sea level, Yellowstone National Park covers 8,992 sq km. It sits on the caldera of the largest supervolcano in the Americas, which is considered to still be active today. Hence the many geothermal features, including more than 300 geysers and 10,000 hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots.
The supervolcano has erupted violently a number of times over the past two million years, releasing vast amounts of ash that blanketed much of central North America, probably causing the extinction of some species and affecting world weather patterns.
The current caldera formed after a huge plume of magma rose up through the crust, the increased pressure cracking the surface and firing out lava. With the magma chamber emptied, the crustal roof collapsed down, forming a huge crater.
In recent years, the supervolcano has kept a low profile, with volcanic activity staying relatively constant since scientists first started monitoring it more than three decades ago. If a catastrophic eruption was about to happen, there would be stronger earthquakes and sudden ground deformation at locations around the park in the preceding weeks.
Despite the scaremongering, the scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory believe that a volcanic eruption in Yellowstone is very unlikely in the next 1,000 or even 10,000 years.
Old Faithful
Melting snow and ice creep down through cracks in the porous mountain rocks of Yellowstone. On meeting salty water heated by the volcano’s magma chamber, the heavier cold water sinks, while the hot water rises to the surface, bubbling out through cracks in the hot springs and exploding through geysers. Steamboat is the world’s tallest active geyser and has been known to fire water 90m into the air. Old Faithful lives up to its name by faithfully erupting on average 17 times a day, spurting 95°C water over 30m high. It’s not completely predictable — visitors can wait between one and two hours to see it. However, the longer the wait, the longer the eruption will last.
Getting there
Yellowstone Airport, adjacent to the national park in West Yellowstone, Montana, is usually open from June to September. The closest year-round airports are in Cody (83km east), Jackson (90km south), Bozeman (105km north) and Idaho Falls (172km southwest). It’s often cheaper to fly into Salt Lake City (628km south, in Utah) or Denver (906km south, in Colorado), and then rent a car. No public transport exists within Yellowstone National Park. During summer, commercial buses operate from Jackson and Cody, while buses run to West Yellowstone and Gardiner from Bozeman year-round.
While you’re there
Drive 45 minutes south to discover the less-crowded Grand Teton National Park, with its jagged mountain peaks and translucent lakes. Further afield, drive eight hours east to the Black Hills of South Dakota to marvel at the rock sculptures of Mt Rushmore and the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial. Or drive 14 hours south to Arizona and the epic Grand Canyon, and visit nearby Bryce Canyon National Park, with its bizarre geological shapes and spires known as ‘hoodoos’.
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