Heidi got the hookup with Ralph Taylor to get us a tour out in Potts Hot Spring Basin. It's normally off limits but... I know people who know people. We also met Dot and Jim Sweeney who came with Ralph. The basin is split into the Upper and Lower Mercurial Groups as well as North Beach and South Beach. Mercurial refers to the emotion (wildly swinging) and not the element. Basically, the tree line is the separation between the Upper and Lower. North Beach is mostly mudpots.
The basin was named for Daniel Potts who
was an early trapper. There are something like 400 features in this basin. There are obligate plants in the basin. Ones that can grow at high temperatures. According to Ralph, no one knows why the plants can stand the high temps, there is a possible bacteria that may help guard the roots.
In the various hot springs, there can be two types of bubbles. Gas bubbles don't change size don't change size but steam bubbles hit the cooler water and collapse.
Lower Mercurial Group has bigger hotter pools and geyser.
There was tall, yellow grass called "Tufted Hair Grass." It's presence means that it is probably wet or was wet for most of the year. Normally, you can sort of trust that stepping on grass tufts will keep you dry and unburned. That's not true here. You also have to be careful of the thermal quicksand. Uh... huh. This is why you can only come with a guide.
It takes decades to build a shelf like this
Why? Why would you walk through a hot spring?
Man made lagoon, the old road is holding it in
They built the original road over a thermal area
A cliff is on South Beach. This wall is where a hot spring used to be, a cross-section of 30 years of hot spring activities
Silicified bacterial mat
Effluessence, usually gypsum but Ralph didn't know what this one was
More bacterial mat
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