Skywatch Friday: Great Fountain Geyser

 Last week I took the time to visit the Great Fountain Geyser in Yellowstone National Park.

This geyser erupts about ever 9 to 15 hours.  The Park Service does publish predicted times for it.  The eruption window is about four hours and that's why I've never stuck around for it before.

Last Friday, however, I loaded up drinks, snacks, hat, and a book and went to make the long wait.

This geyser is surrounded by these beautiful pools of many colors thanks to the microorganisms that live here.

I chose a seat on the benches and was treated to an eruption of the White Dome Geyser that is a short distance down the road.  If you've never been to Yellowstone in the summer, these geyser fields are hot especially when the sun is beating down on you.  I took some breaks in my truck to get out of the sun.

Before long I could see that it was starting to bubble which means an eruption is coming soon.

Then it started spurting more and more.

Here it comes!

There it goes!  This geyser erupts up to 75 feet.

And it just kept going.

Funny thing is that as soon as it blew several people left the boardwalks and headed to their cars before it even finished.  I've noticed that at Old Faithful too.  Some people seem to be happy to watch it for 30 seconds before they head for the parking lot.

Not me though.  I waited around and took photos from every angle.  It was definitely impressive and I highly recommend it if you're ever in Yellowstone.  It's worth the wait!  Download the NPS Yellowstone app for geyser prediction times.

Here's a short video that I took.

The Great Fountain is located on Firehole Lake Drive so on my way out I made a quick stop at Firehole Lake.  Even the tiniest of geysers are fun to watch.

More beautiful bacterial mats.

I really wanted to stick my hand in to see how warm it is, but as a ranger I swore to protect the park and besides it would be wrong to disregard the rules.

Linking with Skywatch Friday