Yellwostone, a supervolcano

I think I can speak for the whole travel group, if I say that we had high expectations about Yellowstone National Park and that we were very excited to get there. We were discussing our favorite things to see there, already a few days in advance. Finally on Thursday 23.06.2016 we arrived at the Yellowstone National Park. It did not disappoint. Not. At. All!

Driving along Yellowstone Lake.

Yellowstone is the world’s first national park. It was founded in 1872. The biggest part of the national park is located in Wyoming and extends into the states of Montana and Idaho. I was especially thrilled to be in Yellowstone, since it is a supervolcano and I’ve been fascinated by volcanos ever since. As a child I used to read many books and watch documentations about volcanos. To be standing on a volcano was on my bucket list for a long time and to be on top of actually the mother of all volcanos was just downright awesome.

Here we were standing looking at the Yellowstone caldera that rises a few centimeters per year, as a result of changes in the magma chamber pressure. It measures about 34 x 45 miles (55 x 72 km).

There were 3 major eruptions of the Yellowstone in the past, the last happened about 640'000 years ago. Experts don't seem to agree, whether there’s going to be another big eruption soon in the foreseeable future or not. The internet tells different facts, than I heard from experts who I’ve talked to. But if it happens it may affect the whole world in some way or others. The University of Utah Seismograph Station records about 1000-2000 earthquakes a year, mostly minor. As you can see that volcano is still very active.

Standing at Churning Caldron

Looking at Mud Volcano.

Dragon's Mouth Spring.

Admiring the beautiful Yellowstone River.

We saw uncountable buffalos these days, fascinating animals.

In the afternoon some of us hiked above the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It was pure bliss. See the rainbow seen from the lower falls of the Yellowstone River. To get there you have to climb down several stairs, but it was so worth it.

Lower Falls.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

The Lower Falls from afar, at the end of the hike.

After spending the whole day in the national park and getting a first impression of that wonder of nature, we got to our cozy cabin at Henrys lake, where we stayed for a few nights. It was beautiful and peaceful.