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Signs! A
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Yellowstone
National Park - Beauty and Chromatic Pools
Location
of sign - Upper Geyser Basin near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park
Photo
taken June 2008
Close-up
view of sign
Wide
view of sign
Text
of sign:
Beauty and Chromatic Pools
Living Color
The
vivid colors of Beauty Pool's basin and runoff channels are created by
microscopic lifeforms. Incredibly, these organisms
survive
and thrive in an environment that would be lethal to us and most other living
creatures. Scientists are just beginning to
understand
these lifeforms; amazingly, hot spring environments may sustain a diversity
of organisms rivaling that of terrestrial rain
forests.
Hidden
Connections
Beauty
Pool shares an underground link with Chromatic Pool (to your immediate
left). When Beauty Pool is full, Chromatic Pool's
water
level is much lower; sometimes the reverse may be observed. Many other
features in the Upper Geyser Basin have
demonstrated
similar behavior. The factors affecting such exchanges of function are
many and may include phenomena such as
earthquakes
and continuing mineral accumulations is each feature's underground
"plumbing."
Thermal Feature Color Gradient
In
the geyser basins with alkaline or neutral pH (Upper, Midway, Lower, West
Thumb, and Mammoth Hot Springs), color is
primarily
a function of what lives and grows in a feature. The graph to the right
represents the upper environmental temperature
limits
for life and the corresponding colors (which vary over the course of a year
as a consequence of seasonal changes) in the
features
or runoff channels.
Graphics
on the sign
In addition
to the text there is a picture of Chromatic Pool and Beauty Pool and a
temperature graph for the various life forms that
live
in the pools.
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