•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is the spring
Physical Structure
History
How is it colored
Tourism
Effects of tourism
Bacteria in the Spring
Food chain
Future of the hot springs

 o o o
Largest hot spring and the most remarkable of all the hot springs
The hot spring radiates extremely hot water, and stunning prismatic color, from its center
Located in Yellowstone in Grand
Prismatic Park
The park is 2,219,789 acres

 o
Approximately 370 feet (110 m) in diameter
121 feet (40 m) deep o o
560 US gallons (2,100 L) of 70 °C water evaporated per minute
No trees or vegetation around the spring





Discovered in 1871
Officially described and named by the
Hayden Expectation
The first federally-funded exploration of what became Yellowstone
The expedition's leader, was Ferdinand Hayden

•
•
•
•
•
Heat loving bacteria cause the color in the spring
Heated water from cracks in the earth rise up contently
Constant cycle creates rings of distinct temperatures around the center
Each ring creates a very different environment inhabited by different types of bacteria
Has a beautiful, deep-blue color in the center because of blue wavelengths

•
•
•
•
Researchers formed a model that depicts the colors of the hot springs dating back to the 1800s
Certain behaviors changed the makeup of the natural springs
Starting in the 1940s, colors began to change according to
Researchers
An accumulation of coins, trash and rocks over the intervening decades has partially obscured the underwater vent
Before After




Almost three million tourists flock to the
Wyoming national park each year
Many of the tourists would throw coins in for good luck
The coins have affected the springs in a bad way

Calothrix Synechococcus
Chloroflexus

Bacteria
Preferred
Temperature
(◦C)
Calothrix <30
Synechococcus 72
Phormidium 45-60
Chloroflexus 52-60
Thermus aquaticus 70
Energy
Source
Electron
Donor
Light
Light
Light
Light
Water
Water
Water
Hydrogen or Sulfide
Neighboring
Photrophs
Organic
Matter

•
•
•
•
Cyanobacteria are at the bottom of the food chain
Ephydrid flies feed on cyanobacteria
Predatory insects such as spiders, dragonflies and beetles feed on Ephydrid flies
These predatory insects are prey for larger carnivores such as killdeers
Killdeer Bird

o o o
Future eruptions are likely
Fueled by heat from a large reservoir of magma, just a few miles beneath your feet
Thousands of small quakes are recorded each year

Yellowstone's
Rainbow
Hot Springs