Black Sand Basin in Yellowstone National Park
Black Sand Basin in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. It is located In the Upper Geyser Basin, just one mile north of Old Faithful. It features a small collection of jewel-like geysers, and colorful hot springs. Black Sand Basin was originally named the Emerald Group by Peale in 1878. By the turn of the century, tourists began calling it Black Sand Basin because of the small fragments of obsidian sand which covers portions of the basin. Obsidian is a comparatively rare glassy rock that has not crystallized at all, because it has cooled too quickly for any atoms or ions to group into the regular arrangements of the minerals. Obsidian is found where volcanic activity has taken place in relatively recent times. Yellowstone's caldera last erupted 630,000 year ago, when the floor of the giant crater dropped downward more than 1,000 feet along a ring-shaped fault. Today, Yellowstone remains alive as a tremendous amount of heat flows from the ground. This is clearly apparent in the geyser region, and the many thermal features that exist in this pocket of the planet. Black Sand Basin is quite interesting because of its black volcanic glass and its bright vivid colors.
Size: 3600px × 2400px
Location: Black Sand Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
Photo credit: © Janice and Nolan Braud / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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