Within these rings live different organisms, including cyanobacteria, a type of bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis. And it's the different types of bacteria that give the spring its prismatic colors. And these distinct temperature rings are key, because each ring creates a very different environment inhabited by different types of bacteria. Because there's very little living in the center of the pool, the water looks extremely clear, and has a beautiful, deep-blue color (thanks to the scattering of blue wavelengths-the same reason oceans and lakes appear blue to the naked eye). But as the water spreads out and cools, it creates concentric circles of varying temperatures-like a stacking matryoshka doll, if each doll signified a different temperature. 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 (some life does manage to exist, but its limited to organisms that feed off of inorganic chemicals like hyrdogen gas). In the Grand Prismatic Spring, this constant cycle creates rings of distinct temperatures around the center: very, very hot water bubbles up from the middle and gradually cools as it spreads out across the spring's massive surface (370 feet across). Unlike geysers, which have obstructions near the surface (hence their eruptions), water from hot springs flows unobstructed, creating a nonstop cycle of hot water rising, cooling and falling. Hot springs form when heated water emerges through cracks in the Earth's surface. Life becomes a privilege and a blessing after one has seen and thoroughly felt these incomparable types of nature's cunning skill.īut what causes the hot spring's magnificent coloration? It's all thanks to the heat-loving bacteria that call the spring home. Nothing ever conceived by human art could equal the peculiar vividness and delicacy of color of these remarkable prismatic springs. The expedition's leader, Ferdinand Hayden, wrote: ![]() Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States of America.ĭon't adjust your color settings-the Grand Prismatic Spring really is rainbow colored, following the spectrum of white light through a prism (red to blue). The spring was first officially described, and named, by the Hayden Expedition in 1871, which was the first federally-funded exploration of what became Yellowstone. Grand Prismatic Spring from high viewpoint. Text by Steve Smith.It's not hard to find natural wonders within Yellowstone National Park, but the park's largest hot spring might be the most remarkable, and not just for its size: dubbed the Grand Prismatic Spring, the hot spring radiates extremely hot water -and stunning prismatic color-from its center. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. ![]() California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. ![]() The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St.
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