22 miles north of the South Entrance, on the south shore of Lake Yellowstone
Named for the shape of the shoreline it faces, West Thumb Geyser Basin at Yellowstone features lakeshore geysers and brilliant-colored pools. Bison are often found here.
Cautions - West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone
- Stay on the boardwalks and walkways. The water can be boiling temperature or higher, what looks like solid ground may be only a thin crust, and going off the trails damages fragile plants and rock formations.
- Don't throw anything into the pools. Even a small object like a coin can choke off the water flow and kill an active formation.
- Beware of bison at West Thumb Gesyer Basin, Yellowstone. They often rest near the steamy pools, not far from the boardwalk. While they look harmless, they can charge suddenly, and a visitor was injured by a bison here in Summer, 2003.
- Pets are not allowed on the boardwalks.
West Thumb Geyser Basin Yellowstone Sights
The geysers pump 3,100 gallons (11,733 liters) of hot water into the lake every day.Start your exploration from the parking lot. A tip: This area's pit toilets can get quite smelly in the summer, but you can find flush toilets two miles away at Grant Village.
West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone, is rich with geysers, hot springs, pools and mudpots. Some of its more striking features include:
- Abyss Pool: One of the deepest pools in the park, Abyss pool's turquoise depths descend to over 50 feet (16 m). Abyss Pool erupted several times in the late 1980s and early 1990s, then became quiet again.
- Fishing Cone: The "cone" is a submerged geyser cone, and mountain men told stories of catching trout and dropping them into the boiling spring to cook. Early visitors often showed up dressed in a cook's hat and apron to pose for photographs here.
- Twin Geysers: A single geyser with two vents, Twin Geysers erupt in two parts, with the west vent spraying 70 feet (21 m) high, followed by the east vent's 100-foot (30 m) surge.
How West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Got There
About 150,000 years ago, a volcano exploded in the West Thumb area. The earth's surface collapsed, creating West Thumb caldera, which later filled with water to form Lake Yellowstone. The hydrothermal features on the lake shore are remnants of that ancient volcano.Heat-loving organisms called thermophiles, colorless and yellow in the hottest water and orange brown and green in cooler pools, tint the pools here, and when the water is near boiling, it absorbs all light except blue, intensifying blue skies into turquoise and aquamarine.
