Welcome to another walkabout. Today we’ll be taking an oh-so-short trip via the boardwalk around Grand Prismatic Hot Spring in Yellowstone National Park.
Located in the Midway Geyser Basic in Yellowstone National Park, it is the largest hot spring in the United States. It was named for the prismatic colors ranging out from the central pool.
The bright, vivid colors are the result of microbial mats around the edges of the mineral-rich water. The mats produce colors ranging from green to red; the amount of color in the microbial mats depends on the ratio of chlorophyll and temperature of the runoff.
In the summer, the mats tend to be orange and red, whereas in the winter the mats are usually dark green.
Other beauty abounds nearby including some tiny little wild flowers in a mustardy hue.
Although the surrounding area is covered with pines and prairies, the Midway Geyser Basin itself it barren of trees for obvious reasons. We came across this painting in a coffee shop which reminded me of the stark dichotomy of the abundant life and barren landscape.
There you have it, I said it was quick! This post was inspired by:
Terri’s Sunday Stills where our monthly color challenge in Mustard
and Marsha’s PPAC #60 where we can always find diverse artistic expression
Til next time ~ stop, look around, be amazed ~JP
Crone and Curmudgeon 
First of all, clever of you to include Yellow in Yellowstone as a nod to the color challenge, JP! That first image of the hot spring with those contrasting yellows and teal blues looks amazing! I bet that is a sight to see and I hope to get over there next year! Fascinating to read about the microbial mats and their cyclical color changes.
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Thank you Terri. I wondered if anybody would get the “yellow” connection. Lol seems they did the colors were such a good match I couldn’t resist.
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Fantastic photos, information, and an ideal fit for the challenge.
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Gorgeous photos and cool play with colour!
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You are the clever one – Yellow(stone). You could have had pink and purple Yellowstone pictures mixed in there and still fit the Yellow requirement. Well done. Thanks for linking to PPAC as well. The painting is the perfect combination of mustard and loneliness.
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Thanks Marsha I wondered if Yellowstone was a bit too much but the colors were just too perfect 😂
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Yellowstone is too much for everyone. It’s awe inspiring and over the top amazing. How can we take in such a huge amount of beauty and wonder?
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