Mammoth Hot Springs, Lower Terraces

As you travel into Yellowstone National Park from the north you meet the main park road at the village of Mammoth where there is a hotel, an historic fort, various headquarters buildings and a few shops. In Mammoth the main road takes you south and west or east and south along the Grand Loop Road, the upper loop of the "figure 8" main road through Yellowstone. Heading south and a bit west and just outside of the village are the Mammoth Hot Springs Lower Terraces. There is a parking area below and in front of the terraces and boardwalks through the terraces which lead to the top and to the road which goes through the Upper Terraces. These photos are all from the Lower Terraces, one of the thermally active areas in the north of the park. The inset photos show the following:

1) the front of the terraces as they appear at present - thermal activity changes from year to year and at one time the whole front of the terraces was active while now only the southern end of the them is active.

2) Liberty Cap, a forty foot (12 m) high travertine cone that stands next to the terraces.

3) Palette Spring on the north end of the terraces, a spring that has not always been active the many times we've visited Yellowstone over the years.

4) An inactive area near Cleopatra Terrace - when an area become inactive then the travertine very soon begins to turn gray and crumble as is evident in this photo.

5) Cleopatra Terrace, an area that is very active at present and one of the most beautiful areas of the Lower Terraces.

6) A typical autumn early morning view over the terraces when the cool air and steam make it difficult to see.

7) a spring whose name I do not remember near the top of the Lower Terraces.

The main photo was taken from the top of the terraces and looks back north over the terraces to the Gallatin Mountains.