Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, USA

by Jeroen van Deel

Mammoth Hot Springs is a large complex of hot springs on a travertine hill in Yellowstone National Park, adjacent to Fort Yellowstone and the Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District. It was created over thousands of years when hot spring water cooled and deposited calcium carbonate (more than two tonnes in solution flow into Mammoth every day). Due to the vast amount of geothermal springs, travertine flourishes.

Yellowstone National Park is a national park in the United States, mainly in Wyoming, but with small sections in the neighbouring states of Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone covers an area of 8983 km², making it at once one of the largest national parks in the United States. The average altitude in the park is 2440 metres. Most of the park consists of forest in Wyoming. The park is home to many animal species, including bison, deer, several species of bear, coyotes and wolves. The park contains over 800 kilometres of paved roads and twice as many kilometres in hiking trails. To the south, Yellowstone connects to Grand Teton National Park.