There’s no place quite like Yellowstone. It’s a park I’ve visited a half dozen times in my life and I’m ready to go back anytime. Besides its natural beauty, it has an amazing assortment of geothermal activities. We’ve featured a number of Yellowstone posts on this website, such as the Upper Geyser Basin and Midway Geyser Basin.
West Thumb Geyser Basin has geothermal features similar (although less dramatic) than in other popular places in the park but is unique because of its location on the shore of beautiful Yellowstone Lake, the largest high-altitude lake within the United States. The area is on the west shore of the lake and has a thumb-like geographic shape — hence its name. It’s a caldera within the larger caldera of the Yellowstone National Park. The geothermal features you see here extend to the bottom of the lake in the West Thumb region.
A boardwalk has been created around the geothermal features, intended to protect visitors from the boiling water and irregular thin crust in the area. People have broken through the crust around geothermal features in Yellowstone and suffered a terrible death in its boiling waters.
Here’s some of the highlights of our visit to the West Thumb Geyser basin:
Abyss Pool
Abyss pool is a hot spring known for its bright blue water and sloping walls. It extends to a depth of 53 feet. A mat of colorful thermophilic organisms extends from the pool towards the lake.
A video of the Abyss Pool follows:
Thumb Paint Pots
These miniature mud volcanoes are smelly and bubbly.
Fishing Cone
The fishing cone is a hot spring located within the water of Yellowstone Lake. Legend has it that mountain men would fish the lake and then cook their fish in this boiling hot spring.
Fishing cone sometimes erupts as a geyser. Its tallest eruption was about 40 feet, although recent eruptions are smaller and infrequent.
Wildlife
A special treat during our visit was the chance to watch a cow elk and her calf wander across West Thumb, slowly grazing. They did not seem bothered by tourists and fortunately did not break through the crust.
If you visit:
You’ll need to pay a park entrance fee, which varies depending on age, type of vehicle, etc. West Thumb Geyser Basin is on Yellowstone Lake about 22 miles north of the park’s South Entrance (closed from early November to mid-May).
Your walk around the West Thumb Geyser Basin is easy, interesting and scenic. It will take about an hour or so — longer if you like to linger. Remember to stay on the boardwalks.
