We have walked Mammoth’s Upper Terraces a few times, most recently about six weeks ago. The Upper Terraces is one of my favorite places. The rapid change of the hot springs and travertine formations they create, the peaceful nature of Upper Terraces Drive, and the views! However, I realized we have never walked the Lower Terraces. It is 6:30am and the sun has yet to rise above Mount Everts. Let’s enjoy the reawakening of Mound Spring in the cool of the morning and explore the ever-changing nature of Mammoth’s travertine terraces. It was only about four years ago that this spring came back to life reawakening beautiful Mound Terrace.
Well, I cheated there giving you a preview of where we are heading, but we have to get there first. Up, up, the stairs to the terraces. I know, it looks like a gray blob of rock, but we’ll talk more of this in a minute. First let’s enjoy the views as the sky brightens before sunrise.
We turn around to face east and see Mount Everts. Named after Truman C. Everts who was lost in Yellowstone for 37 days in the autumn of 1870. I’ll leave it to you to decide about Truman. Mount Everts is a massive plateau with an elevation of 7,831 feet, rising over 2,000 feet above the Gardiner River that runs along much of its base.
Looking west, we see the road that takes us to Yellowstone’s Northeast Entrance then beyond to the gorgeous Beartooth Mountains or south along The Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, Wyoming 296, to Cody. Cody has a phenomenal museum, and if you are out this way, don’t miss a visit. Amazing, and it just keeps getting better.
From here we see two waterfalls that you might not notice on your own. The lower circle is Undine Falls, a grand walk of about 30 feet off the road. It’s a must see. The higher is Wraith Falls, a one mile round trip from its dedicated parking area. We’ll take a look at both, but another day. The mountain range furthest away is Blacktail Plateau. Mount Everts is on our left and Bunsen Peak on the right, although Bunsen rises to 8,527 feet, much higher than this view offers. Does Bunsen Peak bring back memories of high school science? Yes, it was named for the German chemist Robert Bunsen, the inventor of the Bunsen Burner and responsible for early research on volcanic geyser theories.
Oh so much to take you to see, but today we explore terraces.
This is Mound Terrace, inactive since the late 1970s, but to our right is Mound Spring. We’ll walk a ways down the boardwalk to get a better look at the spring.
Oh my! Quick, get a picture. Well, he is faster than my lens in this light, but you see him? A snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) looking for breakfast goodies. Their coat turns white in the winter and you can still see the back of his ears are white. Except for his feet, he will turn completely brown for the summer. Great seasonal camouflage, don’t you think? Hares are larger than rabbits with longer ears and feet. In this fella’s case, feet large enough to warrant the name snowshoe. These hares can be 20″ long nose to tail and up to 4 pounds. This guy is pretty big.
We saw the eastern edge of Mound Terrace (first picture above) and the runoff that is creating the formations. Let’s walk to the other side of this terrace to see vibrant Mound Spring’s artistry. Mammoth is the only place in Yellowstone you will find travertine terraces, and aside from a few fumaroles, we find only hot springs here. There are no geysers or mud pots in the Mammoth area.
Let’s talk a minute about Mammoth’s hydrothermal activity. These terraces are travertine which is formed from limestone. Thermal water rises through limestone and carries high quantities of dissolved limestone (calcium carbonate) to the surface. As carbon dioxide is released, calcium carbonate is left behind. This is travertine, a chalky white mineral that forms the rock of the terraces. All the colors result from heat-loving microorganisms called thermophiles. The various colors are different thermophiles, each requiring different water temperatures and pH levels.
The real story, of course, is the super-heated water. The Park Service geologists tell us, “Mammoth Hot Springs are a surface expression of the deep volcanic forces at work in Yellowstone.” The hot water, laced with calcium carbonate, trickles over the edges blending together level after level creating what appears to be a frozen waterfall.
There is a huge fault system running between Mammoth and Norris Geyser Basin 21 miles south. Norris is the hottest thermal area in Yellowstone with the highest water temperature ever recorded in the park–459°. Scientists believe Mammoth’s boiling water comes along that fault from Norris. Of course it is more complex than that two-sentence explanation, but we hit the highlights. Thermal activity has been going on in the park for thousands of years. The path of the “plumbing” moving water from place to place is still somewhat of a mystery even with our advanced technology, although new revelations continue to come to light.
Wow, another snowshoe hare. We hit the jackpot today! Tough to see since he/she blends so well. That’s the point of course. The “trick” to finding most animals in Yellowstone–scan the landscape for movement. Looking for colors rarely works.
Looking on the other side the boardwalk, you see how the terraces are forming around the legs. At some point the Park Rangers will remove the boardwalk to allow this area to “grow” naturally and build new boardwalk access elsewhere. The terraces and active areas can change even month to month. One of the reasons I so enjoy this area.
Let’s take a closer look that these formations. We can literally stand over them to see how they “grow” thanks to the boardwalk.
Killdeer can often be found around Mammoth’s hot springs chowing down on the bugs that live along the edges of the springs and in the water.
Ah, there’s the mate.
Heading back down the boardwalk, we see Mound Spring runoff flowing around Minerva Terrace. The two hot springs straight ahead are Palette Spring to the left, New Palette Spring on the right. We’ll go see the result of that runoff soon at the base of the terraces.
Minerva Terrace was spectacular from about 1959 into the 1990s. It was considered Mammoth’s most beautiful terraces and graced Park Service brochures throughout the 1970s and 80s. It has been inactive since 1999, but as springs become clogged with minerals or “plumbing” changes directions underground, any inactive area could become active again. We just experienced the reawakening of Mound Spring which had been inactive at least 10 years. Minerva must have been magnificent. Hopefully we will see it active again.
Well, time for breakfast so let’s head back–turn right then straight ahead.
Just about to the staircase taking us to the car.
Well, here we have elk to our right, but they don’t seem interested.
But the bison to our left are picking up speed heading toward the car, not to mention the other five already on our side of the road. Let’s quickly jog to the car and hopefully avoid being stuck on the stairs until the bison decide to leave. They are not usually in a hurry and I’m hungry. Beautiful early morning on Mammoth’s amazing terraces.
See you soon . . .
