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Yellowstone
National Park - An Exploded Bay
Location
of sign - Near the waters edge at the West Thumb section of
Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park
Photo
taken May 2008
Close-up
view of sign
Wide
view of sign
Text
of sign:
An
Exploded Bay
West
Thumb's shoreline has suspiciously crater-like contours. It's
underwater profile is dramatically deeper than the rest of
Yellowstone
Lake. Only a massive explosion could have formed West Thumb.
Though
the blowout occurred 125,000 years ago, West Thumb is still thermally
active. Hot springs, mudpots, and geysers steam
and
percolate along the shore, and temperature gauges record highest heat flow in
lake bottom sediments.
This
bay is a crater within a crater - a volcanic eruption and a violent collapse
within the larger, earlier Yellowstone caldera.
In
winter, holes in the thick ice indicate hot spots in the lake bed where
thermal features bubble up. Otters often fish in those
melt
holes.
Graphics
on the sign
In addition
to the text there is a graphical depiction of the eruption on the lake and a
picture of two otters fishing in a melt hole.
There
is also a small map insert showing Yellowstone Lake.
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