Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: steam

This was an absolutely amazing week away with my friends, Linda and Tony, from England. I had known Linda since she was a baby and I was four or five years old, and our parents were best friends. Believe it or not, this was only my second holiday in about 30 years! Some of you may just remember that when my Brother in England died, several of my long-time friends who lived in the same city all stepped forward and helped me deal with everything long distance, from my Brother's funeral to finding everything possible in the house a good home (sold or donated). All my parents' belongings were there, too, so it was a mammoth task to go through everything and put aside every single personal item or document, which were then shipped to me here. When Linda and Tony were planning their trip to Canada, they persuaded me to join them for this wonderful week in Yellowstone National Park. I didn't know we were also going to Grand Teton National Park and then coming home via Glacier/Waterton National Parks, too! A wonderful treat! It's not easy to remember what all the different hot springs and geysers are in Yellowstone National Park, so hopefully I am identifying them correctly. I believe this hot spring is Abyss Pool, which is near the Black Pool, at the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Amazing how similar some of them look - especially once you are back home after your trip and a year and a half has gone by! In the distance is Yellowstone Lake. "Temperature 172°F. Dimensions 30x57 feet. Depth 53 feet. Abyss Pool is a colorful and interesting pool in the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Abyss is the deepest pool known in Yellowstone and received its name for its abyss-like depth. The dark green-colored water gives the illusion of a bottomless pool. Vandalism may have changed this pool's temperature. Coins and other debris thrown in have caused the vent to plug. The reduced spring flow also reduced the pool temperature, allowing abundant algae growth along the edge and run-off channels. The extensive microbial mats now support ephydrid flies, spiders and killdeers. An unusual eruption in 1987 caused the pool to surge and temporarily destroyed the microbial mats." www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/westthumb.htm

I still have so many photos to go through properly, taken on my week's trip with friends from England, down to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in September 2012. This photo shows one of the hot springs close to the boardwalk at West Thumb Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.

I still have all sorts of photos from my week's holiday with my friends from England that I haven't posted yet. This hot spring is now surrounded by the waters of Yellowstone Lake. Taken on 15 September 2012, the fifth day of our trip. "Fishing Cone is a geyser in the West Thumb Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. In the earlier part of the 20th century, this cone had eruptions as high as 40 feet (12 m). As the water level in Yellowstone Lake has increased, the cone is now inundated during the spring and the temperatures in the cone have cooled enough that it no longer erupts and is now considered a hot spring. The name Fishing Cone can be traced back to tales told by mountain men of a lake where you could catch a fish then immediately dunk it into hot spring and cook it on the hook. A member of the 1870 Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition popularized this feat." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishing_Cone

Not easy to remember what all the different hot springs and geysers are, in Yellowstone National Park, so hopefully I am identifying them correctly. I believe this hot spring is Black Pool, at the West Thumb Geyser Basin. Amazing how similar some of them look - especially once you are back home after your trip and five weeks have gone by : ) "The pool was cool enough up until 1991 for dark orange-brown cyanobacteria to grow throughout the pool. When combined with the blue of the water, the pool appeared to be an exceptionally dark green to almost black, hence the name." An exchange of function took place in 1991, shifting thermal energy to Black Pool and nearby Abyss Pool, causing them to heat up. Black Pool's temperature became hot enough to kill all the cyanobacteria in the pool, turning the pool a rich teal blue color. The pool also had frequent boiling eruptions on August 15, 1991, doming the water to 3 feet and causing heavy runoff. Black Pool remains extremely hot, and is now one of Yellowstone's most beautiful and intensely blue pools. The name of the pool remains "Black Pool." From Wikipedia. The dark orange-brown cyanobacteria seems to be back along this one edge of the spring. ""Temperature of Black Pool is 132°F. Dimensions 40x75 feet. Depth 30 feet. Black Pool is one of the largest springs in the West Thumb Geyser Basin. The dark-colored water is the combination of the natural, transparent blue of the water and the orange algae lining of the pool. The low temperature of the pool is responsible for the abundant growth of the orange-colored microbial mats. Algae and cyanobacteria in combination with sinter deposits have created coral-like formations on the sides of the pool but these are visible for only a few feet. The pH of Black Pool is a slightly alkaline 7.8." www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/westthumb.htm

Fascinating features in every direction - that's what you find at Mammoth Hot Springs, in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, US. I think this was taken at the Main Terrace. Terrace features can change rapidly. "Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a hill of travertine in Yellowstone National Park adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years as hot water from the springs cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (over two tons flow into Mammoth each day in a solution). Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy has been attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone geothermal areas." From Wikipedia. www.yellowstonenationalpark.com/mammoth.htm

Seen on the third day of our week's trip down to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons. Artemisia Geyser is a fountain geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. We parked in the parking lot, crossed the road and walked along the Artemisia Trail for quite some distance, passing several other geysers/pools. We had hoped to find the Morning Glory pool, but were out of luck. "Artemisia Geyser is part of the Cascade Group which includes the Atomizer Geyser. It erupts for a duration of 15 to 25 minutes once or twice per day. The fountain reaches a height of 30 feet (9.1 m). Artemisia's pool overflows quietly for many hours before an eruption, but gives no visible warning of an impending eruption until the sudden increase in overflow that marks the eruption's onset. Eruptions are accompanied by a strong underground thumping caused by steam bubbles collapsing in the geyser's channels. Artemisia also experiences minor eruptions lasting about 5 minutes. These minor eruptions are followed by major eruptions within six hours. Minor eruptions are rare. Years may pass between episodes of minor eruptions. In 2009, intervals between eruptions ranged from 9 to 36 hours, averaging 18 hours, 43 minutes." From Wikipedia.

This small model train was one of several that were sent over from England to me, after my Brother died last Christmas. My Father was a keen collector of model trains and also did a huge amount of photography of the various steam trains of the UK and a few parts of Europe. Will be giving each of my kids one of these models to keep, as a reminder of their Grandpa. "The Dean Single, 3031 Class, or Achilles Class was a type of steam locomotive built by the Great Western Railway between 1891 and 1899. They were designed by William Dean for passenger work. The first 30 members of the class were built as 2-2-2s as the 3001 Class. The first eight members of the class (numbers 3021-3028, built April–August 1891) were built as convertible broad gauge 2-2-2 locomotives, being converted to standard gauge in mid-1892, at the end of broad gauge running on the Great Western Railway. A further 22 were built in late 1891 and early 1892, this time as standard gauge engines. Due to their long boilers these engines were unstable, particularly at speed. It was decided that future members of the class would be constructed to a 4-2-2 wheel arrangement to reduce the weight on the front wheels. 3001-3030 were also quickly rebuilt as 4-2-2s. In 1900, George Jackson Churchward replaced the boiler on number 3027 Worcester with a parallel Standard 2 boiler. Twelve further engines were similarly converted in 1905 and 1906. Despite the locomotives' speed, the 4-2-2 design was soon found to be outdated and unsuitable for more modern operation. Although Churchward proposed converting them to more modern 4-4-0s, they were scrapped between 1908 and 1915." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_3031_Class