Voted Travelers' Choice 2024
Find Your Next Photo Adventure
Trip Calendar Most Popular Photography Tours 2024 Photography Tours 2025 Photography Tours 2026 Photography Tours 2027 Photography Tours Spring Photography Tours Summer Photography Tours Fall Photography Tours Winter Photography Tours Landscape Photography Tours Wildlife Photography Tours International Photography Tours
Stay Up To Date On All Things
Backcountry Journeys
Backcountry Journeys
Our Photography Community
Our Blog
From articles on the latest camera gear, to trip reports from our latest expeditions, our blog is meant for all interested in travel photography.Our Webinars
Our regularly hosted webinars provide photography instruction from our own guides on a wide range of topics.Our Education Portal
Explore our library of articles that cover everything from common questions, to in-depth guides on how to achieve that perfect shot.Community Testimonials
We're proud to foster an amazing group of photo travelers, and here you can find their stories from their past adventures.About Backcountry Journeys
Why Choose Backcountry Journeys
If you're considering a photography tour, hear why Backcountry Journeys delivers the best experience in the industry.Frequently Asked Questions
If you're new to photography tours, or new to BCJ, you can find our common travel questions here.Fitness Levels
Our trips vary on physical intensity, and by reviewing our fitness levels, you can find out which trips may be more challenging, or aligned more closely with your comfort level.Meet The Crew
We've built an amazing team of experienced guides, and dedicated office staff that elevate your travel experience. Get to know their backgrounds, and hear their stories.Travel Desk
You can review our various payment, and travel policies here, along with resources regarding international travel.Gift Certificates
Give the gift of photo adventure! We offer gift certificates that can be applied to any of our upcoming tours.Contact Us
If you need to get in touch with our office staff, or have additional business inquiries, you can find our information here.Resources For Photographers
About Our Company
JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP - THE BCJ TRIBE
JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP - THE BCJ TRIBE
Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic
Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic
by Kenton Krueger
With temperatures that are so hot if touched by a human hand skin would melt right off the bone, it’s hard to imagine it also being one of America’s geologic and visual treasures. But it is!
First noted by early 1800’s European trappers (obviously discovered much earlier by Native Americans) as a “boiling lake with a diameter of 300 feet,” Grand Prismatic Spring, located inside Yellowstone National Park, has been luring and amazing visitors for well over a century by its dazzling blue center surrounded by rings of red to green.
First noted by early 1800’s European trappers (obviously discovered much earlier by Native Americans) as a “boiling lake with a diameter of 300 feet,” Grand Prismatic Spring, located inside Yellowstone National Park, has been luring and amazing visitors for well over a century by its dazzling blue center surrounded by rings of red to green.
“Nothing ever conceived by human art could equal the peculiar vividness and delicacy of color of these remarkable prismatic springs.”
-Ferdinand Hayden 1871
The Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the United States, measuring approximately 370 feet in diameter and over 121 feet deep. It is the third largest in the world, after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and Boiling Lake in Dominica.
We’ll be certain to stop and photograph the spring while on Backcountry Journeys Spring Comes to Yellowstone & Grand Teton tour & Yellowstone Wildlife Safari. While Grand Prismatic is one of the brightest highlights on this highlight-filled tour, it is obviously not the only of Yellowstone’s famous hydrothermal features we’ll visit, so hang onto your hats!
While this post will focus on Grand Prismatic, we still feel it in order to take a moment to talk about the different hydrothermal features found at Yellowstone, because while they are all marvelous, they aren’t all the same. Yellowstone features hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles, and probably the most famous of the features, geysers!
-Ferdinand Hayden 1871
The Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the United States, measuring approximately 370 feet in diameter and over 121 feet deep. It is the third largest in the world, after Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand and Boiling Lake in Dominica.
We’ll be certain to stop and photograph the spring while on Backcountry Journeys Spring Comes to Yellowstone & Grand Teton tour & Yellowstone Wildlife Safari. While Grand Prismatic is one of the brightest highlights on this highlight-filled tour, it is obviously not the only of Yellowstone’s famous hydrothermal features we’ll visit, so hang onto your hats!
While this post will focus on Grand Prismatic, we still feel it in order to take a moment to talk about the different hydrothermal features found at Yellowstone, because while they are all marvelous, they aren’t all the same. Yellowstone features hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles, and probably the most famous of the features, geysers!
What are they and how are they different?
(The following science comes from nps.gov)
Hot Springs: Hot springs are the most common hydrothermal features in the park. Their plumbing has no constrictions. Superheated water cools as it reaches the surface, sinks, and is replaced by hotter water from below. This circulation, called convection, prevents water from reaching the temperature needed to set off an eruption.
Mud Pots: Mudpots are acidic features with a limited water supply. Some microorganisms use hydrogen sulfide, which rises from deep within the earth, as an energy source. They help convert the gas to sulfuric acid, which breaks down rock into clay. Various gases escape through the wet clay mud, causing it to bubble. Mudpot consistency and activity vary with the seasons and precipitation.
Fumaroles: Fumaroles, or steam vents, are the hottest of the hydrothermal features. The limited amount of water flashes into steam before reaching the surface. The result is a loud hissing of steam and gases.
Travertine Terraces: Travertine terraces are formed from limestone (calcium carbonate). Water rises through the limestone, carrying high amounts of dissolved calcium carbonate. At the surface, carbon dioxide is released and calcium carbonate is deposited, forming travertine, the chalky white rock of the terraces. Due to the rapid rate of deposition, these features change often and fast.
Geysers: Geysers are hot springs with constrictions in their plumbing, usually near the surface, that prevent water from circulating freely to the surface where heat would escape. The deepest circulating water can exceed the surface boiling point. Surrounding pressure also increases with depth, similar to the ocean. Increased pressure exerted by the enormous weight of the overlying water prevents the water from boiling. As the water rises, steam forms. Bubbling upward, steam expands as it nears the top of the water column. At a critical point, the confined bubbles actually lift the water above, causing the geyser to splash or overflow. This decreases pressure on the system, and violent boiling results. Tremendous amounts of steam force water out of the vent and an eruption begins. Water is expelled faster than it can enter the plumbing system, and the heat and pressure gradually decrease. The eruption stops when the water reservoir is depleted or when the system cools.
Cool, no?
All these features are of course amazing in their own way, however, we’re going to focus this post on Grand Prismatic, which is a hot spring, so keep in mind some of the science on hot springs from the above paragraph.
(The following science is taken from smithsonianmag.com)
The otherworldly effect is caused by varieties of pigmented bacteria and microbes that thrive in the warm, mineral abundant waters surrounding the hot spring.
The hot spring radiates extremely hot water—and stunning prismatic color—from its center.
Water at the center of the spring, which bubbles up 121 feet from underground chambers, can reach temperatures around 189 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it too hot to sustain most life. Because there’s very little living in the center of the pool, the water looks extremely clear and has a beautiful, deep-blue color.
But as the water spreads out and cools, it creates concentric circles of varying temperatures, and these distinct temperature rings create a very different environment inhabited by different types of bacteria.
And it’s the different types of bacteria that give the spring its prismatic colors.
Moving outward from the yellow band, the temperature of the hot spring begins to cool, and as the temperature cools, a more diverse set of bacterial life can flourish. The net result of this color diversity is the orange color that you see in pictures—it’s not that every bacterium manifests as orange individually, but that the composite color of all the different bacteria seen together is orange. And that orange color, like the yellow in the ring next to it, comes from carotenoids, which these bacteria produce to help shield themselves from the harsh light of Yellowstone’s summer sun.
The outermost ring is the coolest, at around 131°F, and home to the most diverse community of bacteria. As even more organisms are able to live in the outermost ring, the mix of their various carotenoids produces the darkest color of all—the kind of red-brown that you see in photos.
It truly is a sight to behold and one we tend to spend quite a bit of time on during our trips.
(The following science comes from nps.gov)
Hot Springs: Hot springs are the most common hydrothermal features in the park. Their plumbing has no constrictions. Superheated water cools as it reaches the surface, sinks, and is replaced by hotter water from below. This circulation, called convection, prevents water from reaching the temperature needed to set off an eruption.
Mud Pots: Mudpots are acidic features with a limited water supply. Some microorganisms use hydrogen sulfide, which rises from deep within the earth, as an energy source. They help convert the gas to sulfuric acid, which breaks down rock into clay. Various gases escape through the wet clay mud, causing it to bubble. Mudpot consistency and activity vary with the seasons and precipitation.
Fumaroles: Fumaroles, or steam vents, are the hottest of the hydrothermal features. The limited amount of water flashes into steam before reaching the surface. The result is a loud hissing of steam and gases.
Travertine Terraces: Travertine terraces are formed from limestone (calcium carbonate). Water rises through the limestone, carrying high amounts of dissolved calcium carbonate. At the surface, carbon dioxide is released and calcium carbonate is deposited, forming travertine, the chalky white rock of the terraces. Due to the rapid rate of deposition, these features change often and fast.
Geysers: Geysers are hot springs with constrictions in their plumbing, usually near the surface, that prevent water from circulating freely to the surface where heat would escape. The deepest circulating water can exceed the surface boiling point. Surrounding pressure also increases with depth, similar to the ocean. Increased pressure exerted by the enormous weight of the overlying water prevents the water from boiling. As the water rises, steam forms. Bubbling upward, steam expands as it nears the top of the water column. At a critical point, the confined bubbles actually lift the water above, causing the geyser to splash or overflow. This decreases pressure on the system, and violent boiling results. Tremendous amounts of steam force water out of the vent and an eruption begins. Water is expelled faster than it can enter the plumbing system, and the heat and pressure gradually decrease. The eruption stops when the water reservoir is depleted or when the system cools.
Cool, no?
All these features are of course amazing in their own way, however, we’re going to focus this post on Grand Prismatic, which is a hot spring, so keep in mind some of the science on hot springs from the above paragraph.
(The following science is taken from smithsonianmag.com)
The otherworldly effect is caused by varieties of pigmented bacteria and microbes that thrive in the warm, mineral abundant waters surrounding the hot spring.
The hot spring radiates extremely hot water—and stunning prismatic color—from its center.
Water at the center of the spring, which bubbles up 121 feet from underground chambers, can reach temperatures around 189 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it too hot to sustain most life. Because there’s very little living in the center of the pool, the water looks extremely clear and has a beautiful, deep-blue color.
But as the water spreads out and cools, it creates concentric circles of varying temperatures, and these distinct temperature rings create a very different environment inhabited by different types of bacteria.
And it’s the different types of bacteria that give the spring its prismatic colors.
Moving outward from the yellow band, the temperature of the hot spring begins to cool, and as the temperature cools, a more diverse set of bacterial life can flourish. The net result of this color diversity is the orange color that you see in pictures—it’s not that every bacterium manifests as orange individually, but that the composite color of all the different bacteria seen together is orange. And that orange color, like the yellow in the ring next to it, comes from carotenoids, which these bacteria produce to help shield themselves from the harsh light of Yellowstone’s summer sun.
The outermost ring is the coolest, at around 131°F, and home to the most diverse community of bacteria. As even more organisms are able to live in the outermost ring, the mix of their various carotenoids produces the darkest color of all—the kind of red-brown that you see in photos.
It truly is a sight to behold and one we tend to spend quite a bit of time on during our trips.
“Life becomes a privilege and a blessing after one has seen and thoroughly felt these incomparable types of nature’s cunning skill.”
-Hayden, 1871
arrow_drop_down_circle
Divider Text
AUTHOR
AUTHOR
SEARCH THE BLOG
clear
Join our free photo-travel community group on Facebook. A great place to swap stories & share images with fellow photographers!
Live events & webinars from the comfort of your own home. Free webinars on a variety of photography related topics – from photo editing to composition & more.
Check out the BCJ Trip Calendar for all of our upcoming Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris!
FEATURED TRIP:
Ultimate Botswana Wildlife Safari
Discover the ultimate African Wildlife Photography Safari and capture images to last a lifetime!
Ultimate Botswana Wildlife Safari
Discover the ultimate African Wildlife Photography Safari and capture images to last a lifetime!
UPCOMING TRIPS WITH AVAILABILITY
UPCOMING TRIPS WITH AVAILABILITY
[Block//Web Spots Left]
[Block//Trip//Trip Category (Destinations)]
[Block//Start Date %M d %+0]- [Block//End Date %M d, Y%+0]
From [Block//Current Price]
arrow_drop_down_circle
Divider Text
READ OUR NEWSLETTER FOR NEW TRIPS, ARTICLES, & PROMOS
READ OUR NEWSLETTER FOR NEW TRIPS, ARTICLES, & PROMOS
BACKCOUNTRY JOURNEYS
"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
- Russ Nordstrand, Backcountry Journeys Founder & Director
- Russ Nordstrand, Backcountry Journeys Founder & Director
TRIP CATALOG
Download our Trip Catalog for detailed information on our many destinations for photography tours, workshops, and safaris.
All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLCs - Copyright 2024
BACKCOUNTRY JOURNEYS
"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Journeys Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLC - Copyright 2024
TRIP CATALOG
Download our Trip Catalog for detailed information on our many destinations for photography tours, workshops, and safaris.