The receding waters of Nuphar Lake, near Norris Geyser Basin
Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Michael Poland, geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Nuphar Lake is a small, non-thermal body of water—more pond than lake, really—adjacent to the entrance road to Norris Geyser Basin. It was mostly unremarkable until the past few years, when some interesting changes began occurring. In 2021 and 2022, the lake level started to rise dramatically, by several feet (about a meter), and the water changed color from dark green to a
West Thumb Geyser Basin: Diverse and Exceptional Hot Springs, Mud Pots, Geysers, and Hydrothermal Explosions
Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Pat Shanks and Lisa Morgan, research geologist emeriti with the U.S. Geological Survey. West Thumb Geyser Basin (WTGB), along the southwest shore of West Thumb Basin in western Yellowstone Lake, is one of Yellowstone’s most scenic and interesting thermal basins and contains an impressive variety of thermal features. The combination of beautiful blue, deep pools, pastel-colored mud pots, stark white sinter terraces, and expansive views of West Thumb Basin and the Absaroka Range to the east make WTGB a