RHH's photos with the keyword: lower terraces

These photos all show details of the hot springs at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. These hot springs are the result of boiling water seeping up through the ground, dissolving the underlying limestone and then depositing it as calcium carbonate formations (travertine) as the water cools on the surface. These photos were all from the lower terraces at Mammoth. The inset photos need no additional explanation except the fourth which shows a Killdeer, a plover that we have often seen searching for insects in the warm water of the terraces. It gets its name from its distinctive cry.

This is one of the hot springs at the Lower Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.

These terraces form when hot water seeping through the ground and dissolving the underlying limestone cools at the surface and leaves these calcium carbonate deposits behind, a form of calcium carbonate called travertine.

These are the calcium carbonate deposits left by the hot springs at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park but photographed from above.

The Killdeer, a Plover, receives its name from its distinctive cry. This one was photographed wading in the hot water at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.

These are some of the hot springs at the Lower Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park.

Canary Spring is at present the most active hot spring in the lower terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. The white is not water but travertine, calcium carbonate deposits left by hot water seeping up through the ground.

As you travel into Yellowstone National Park from the north you meet the main park road at the village of Mammoth where there is a hotel, an historic fort, various headquarters buildings and a few shops. In Mammoth the main road takes you south and west or east and south along the Grand Loop Road, the upper loop of the "figure 8" main road through Yellowstone. Heading south and a bit west and just outside of the village are the Mammoth Hot Springs Lower Terraces. There is a parking area below and in front of the terraces and boardwalks through the terraces which lead to the top and to the road which goes through the Upper Terraces. These photos are all from the Lower Terraces, one of the thermally active areas in the north of the park. The inset photos show the following: 1) the front of the terraces as they appear at present - thermal activity changes from year to year and at one time the whole front of the terraces was active while now only the southern end of the them is active. 2) Liberty Cap, a forty foot (12 m) high travertine cone that stands next to the terraces. 3) Palette Spring on the north end of the terraces, a spring that has not always been active the many times we've visited Yellowstone over the years. 4) An inactive area near Cleopatra Terrace - when an area become inactive then the travertine very soon begins to turn gray and crumble as is evident in this photo. 5) Cleopatra Terrace, an area that is very active at present and one of the most beautiful areas of the Lower Terraces. 6) A typical autumn early morning view over the terraces when the cool air and steam make it difficult to see. 7) a spring whose name I do not remember near the top of the Lower Terraces. The main photo was taken from the top of the terraces and looks back north over the terraces to the Gallatin Mountains.

These are Mammoth Hot Springs, the Lower Terraces, in Yellowstone National Park from the road that runs south into the park, the Grand Loop Road. The active area on the left is Canary Spring and the area to the right which used to be active is now dead, though that can change at any time

This ancient travertine cone stands near Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park and is named for its fancied resemblance to the "liberty caps" worn by some during the French and American revolutions.

This is Palette Spring on the north end of the Lower Terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. It is not always active.

This is an area of Mammoth Hot Springs that is, at present, geothermally inactive. When that happens the travertine very quickly turns gray and begins to crumble as is seen here.

This is rather typical on an autumn or spring morning in Yellowstone National Park. The cold air and hot thermal activity make for a great deal of steam, all smelling of sulfur.

This is Cleopatra Terrace at Mammoth Hot Springs Lower Terraces in Yellowstone National Park. The springs are all named and this one is usually active and very beautiful.

I am unsure of the name of this hot spring located in the Lower Terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. It may be Mound Spring or Jupiter Spring.

Jupiter Terrace has been very active the last few times we've been in Yellowstone National Park. They are in the lower terraces area of Mammoth Hot Springs.

Jupiter Terrace has been very active the last few times we've been in Yellowstone National Park. They are in the lower terraces area of Mammoth Hot Springs.

Jupiter Terrace has been very active the last few times we've been in Yellowstone National Park. They are in the lower terraces area of Mammoth Hot Springs.