Earth Tones
The rushing river reveals yet another amazement within the vast Yellowstone caldera complex, revealing ancient (and perhaps future) eruptive activity of almost unimaginable scale--in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
Talking with folks I met while traveling this past fall, I found myself wondering: Can a gorge that's marketed to tourists as the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" actually be a little underappreciated among the varied wonders of this fantastical area? Maybe so, as one rarely hears it mentioned prominently when discussing all the amazing wildlife, active volcanic effects and dramatic vistas that cluster in the region encompassing Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Regardless, I immensely enjoyed the colorful earth tones expressed so beautifully in this sharply eroded area still steaming in places from remnant hot springs.
The overlook trails along each rim were delights to walk, particularly in the morning and evening hours, when the softer and changing light would seem each moment to emphasize a subtly different earthtone of this terrestrial palette.
The most commonly seen images of this canyon focus on the lower falls, which plunge forcefully over 300 feet from the more forested heights into the lower reaches of this vivid gorge. Lacking substantial interest in the sky over the falls this evening (or the next morning when I went back to walk the rim trails some more), I tried to focus on the canyon's hues and almost abstract forms looking other directions, here using a three-second exposure with the soft orange/pink backlight that remained shortly after sunset.
The prevailing theory of this gorge's formation is itself quite interesting as, at first glance, the canyon looks to be composed of very different material than the volcanic rock types which seem to cover much of the rest of the region. It is thought that hydrothermal activity was once much stronger here, strong enough in fact to morph the usually much harder and darker volcanic rock into this softer, more colorful and more easily eroded material now exposed by the relentless rush of the Yellowstone River.
Thanks for viewing!
Earth Tones
The rushing river reveals yet another amazement within the vast Yellowstone caldera complex, revealing ancient (and perhaps future) eruptive activity of almost unimaginable scale--in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
Talking with folks I met while traveling this past fall, I found myself wondering: Can a gorge that's marketed to tourists as the "Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone" actually be a little underappreciated among the varied wonders of this fantastical area? Maybe so, as one rarely hears it mentioned prominently when discussing all the amazing wildlife, active volcanic effects and dramatic vistas that cluster in the region encompassing Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Regardless, I immensely enjoyed the colorful earth tones expressed so beautifully in this sharply eroded area still steaming in places from remnant hot springs.
The overlook trails along each rim were delights to walk, particularly in the morning and evening hours, when the softer and changing light would seem each moment to emphasize a subtly different earthtone of this terrestrial palette.
The most commonly seen images of this canyon focus on the lower falls, which plunge forcefully over 300 feet from the more forested heights into the lower reaches of this vivid gorge. Lacking substantial interest in the sky over the falls this evening (or the next morning when I went back to walk the rim trails some more), I tried to focus on the canyon's hues and almost abstract forms looking other directions, here using a three-second exposure with the soft orange/pink backlight that remained shortly after sunset.
The prevailing theory of this gorge's formation is itself quite interesting as, at first glance, the canyon looks to be composed of very different material than the volcanic rock types which seem to cover much of the rest of the region. It is thought that hydrothermal activity was once much stronger here, strong enough in fact to morph the usually much harder and darker volcanic rock into this softer, more colorful and more easily eroded material now exposed by the relentless rush of the Yellowstone River.
Thanks for viewing!