Boardwalk along Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb Geyser Basin

Post-processing #34 |

Boardwalk along Yellowstone Lake, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, August 4, 2010 (composite of 3 Pentax K10D photos using Autostitch)

West Thumb¹

Yellowstone Lake resembles the shape of a human hand (see map below); West Thumb is the large western bay that would be the thumb. The bay is a caldera within a caldera. It was formed by a volcanic eruption approximately 174,000 years ago. The resulting caldera later filled with water, forming an extension of Yellowstone Lake.

West Thumb is also the largest geyser basin on the shore of Yellowstone Lake—and its hydrothermal features lie under the lake too. The heat from these features can melt ice on the lake’s surface.

Reference:

1. National Park Service

Note:

Post-processing – Image editing to enhance the photo closer to what the eye “saw.” Images in this series are usually selected within a day or so of being edited and are either posted at the time or scheduled for posting at a later date.