Mammoth hot springs
North Entrance to Mammoth hot springs (The Grand Loop) Driving time 15 minutes, distance 5 miles
On our way to Mammoth, we passed through the lowest and mildest of Yellowstone’s micro climates. As we drove along the Gardiner River, we kept an eye out for wildlife, like bighorn sheep and elk, both known to make the area their winter habitat. As we reached Mammoth hot springs, we spotted elks grazing peacefully and watched them move near a parked car.
Mammoth hot springs: Mammoth got its name for the large size of its hot springs and its thermal formations. This is a colorful, yet ever-changing collection of hot pools and rocky formations. When the water flows out of the ground, chemical changes take place. Then, some of the dissolved limestone contained in the hot water becomes the mineral travertine. When travertine is deposited as hard rock, the process builds the pools and terraces. It is pretty neat how nature creates artistic masterpieces such as this one.
The hot water that feeds Mammoth comes from Norris Geyser Basin.; that’s after traveling underground via a fault line that runs through limestone and roughly parallel to the Norris-to-Mammoth road. The shallow circulation along this corridor, allows Norris’ boiling hot water to slightly cool before surfacing at Mammoth, generally at about 170 °F (80 °C). The limestone from rock formations along the fault is the source of the calcium carbonate, and the algae living in the warm pools have tinted the travertine to shades of brown, orange, red, and green.
The largest known carbonate-depositing spring in the world. is Terrace Mountain at Mammoth Hot Springs.; and the most famous feature at the springs is the Minerva Terrace, a series of travertine terraces. The terraces accumulated deposits by the spring over many years. The recent minor earthquake activity that took place, has shifted the spring vent and rendered the terraces dry.
The Mammoth Terraces extend all the way from the hillside, across the Parade Ground, and down to Boiling River. The Mammoth Hotel, and Fort Yellowstone, are both built on an old terrace formation called Hotel Terrace.
From the overlook of Upper Terrace Drive, there is a wonderful aerial view of the old buildings of Fort Yellowstone complex. Established in 1872, Yellowstone national park fell victim to vandals and poachers. In 1886, the U.S. Army became responsible for protecting the park.
From Mammoth we took the Grand Loop road and headed to Norris Geyser Basin.
Mammoth hot springs to Norris (The Grand loop) Driving time 40 minutes, distance 21 miles
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