Tuesday, April 26, 2011

V is for Volcano

One of the greatest national parks in the country is Yellowstone, in the northwest corner of Wyoming. There are so many photo opportunities that it's hard to stop taking pictures. And the sounds are as amazing as the sights.

I wasn't quite as close to this guy as the photo makes it look, thanks to the zoom lens.



I have a whole sequence of photos showing Old Faithful from the first puff of steam to the last gasp. I like this one the best.



It's so beautiful in Yellowstone that it's hard to imagine it blowing up and wiping out a big portion of the United States, my part of Colorado with it.

Yellowstone is a supervolcano. This recent article at Discovery News says scientists are now reporting the volcano is bigger than previously thought. Of course, it's highly unlikely this monster will blow anytime soon. The last time was 642,000 years ago, and previous eruptions were 660,000 and 800,000 years apart. No worries.

Geesh. And I wanted to get out of Florida because I thought hurricanes were scary.

7 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Wonderful words and awesome pictures.
Yvonne,

Anonymous said...

Pat - I love your choice for "V!" I've always wanted to visit Yellowstone, too; I hope that some day, I do...

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Love these pictures! Hope I make it over there some day. :)

Marian Allen said...

Gorgeous pictures! I finally managed to get out to South Dakota a few years ago to see The Badlands and Mount Rushmore. I'd love to see Yellowstone and the dino digs, but I think that will have to be in another life. :)

We've been having such crazy stormy weather here, I broke down and set up posts for the rest of the week/month. Like you, I'll be visiting fellow participants for months to come, and I know I'll permanently follow a lot of them.

Marian Allen
Fantasies, mysteries, comedies, recipes

Southpaw said...

Beautiful shots.

Anonymous said...

Yellowstone. Great pictures. They take me back to the trips I took to it with my first husband and children when they were young. Good memories. Didn't know it was a volcano. But it really doesn't sound like something to worry about!
Ann Best, Memoir Author

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

I've never been privileged enought to go to Yellowstone National Park but I did familiarise myself somewhat with it through a National Geographic magazine article. The scary thing is that no-one can tell for sure when a volcano is ready to blow!

Duncan In Kuantan