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 June 15, 2005
At Mammoth Hot Springs, Education Ranger Cate Splane took us on an off-the-beaten-path tour of
Devil's Kitchen, a
cave that tourists used to climb into. Mammoth is a unique hydrothermal
feature because it does not have  any geysers and because travertine
(calcium carbonate) is deposited there.
The water is heated above
boiling temperature (199°F at this altitude) by magma
that is only three to eight miles below the surface.
Mammoth has hot springs rather than geysers because the soft
travertine rock does not form constrictions in the plumbing of
the hydrothermal system. We learned about thermophiles and their
connection to DNA research. We were warned about  walking off trail
because the thin travertine crust can easily collapse, however,
with Ranger Cate, we knew the safe places to walk.
Bear Ranger Marc Hanna eloquently described characteristics and
habitats of bears and enlightened us
about the wonder and majesty of the Park. Wolf Interpreter John
Kerr told us there are about 170 wolves in the park. We saw the
den of the Slough Creek Pack, but no wolves. We'll be back tomorrow
to try again!
 At Tower, we saw basalt lava flows and did a geologic timeline
activity of rocks in the area. We watched osprey feed fish to
two chicks (which distracted us from the rocks). Female bighorn
sheep and two lambs were on the cliffs across the river. A nesting
peregrine falcon was also feeding her two chicks.
After dinner we were sent on a wild moose chase by some passing
tourists — we saw a grizzly-shaped bison in a diamond-shaped
field. On the trip home, Mike's van had a close encounter of
the mule-deer kind. Some of the wildlife we saw yesterday was
spotted near the same location: two black bears crossed the road
in front of us, we saw sandhill cranes on the same pond, and we
spotted a moose near the Petrified Tree. |
