WorldofArun
Limestone terraces
Limestone is the dominant underlying rock here instead of rhyolite, which is dominant in the park's other major hydrothermal areas.
Limestone, deposited here millions of years ago when a vast sea covered this area, provides the final ingredient. Hot water with dissolved carbon dioxide makes a weak solution of calcium carbonate, the primary chemical compound in limestone. At the surface, the calcium carbonate is deposited in the form of travertine, the rock that forms the terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs.
Limestone terraces
Limestone is the dominant underlying rock here instead of rhyolite, which is dominant in the park's other major hydrothermal areas.
Limestone, deposited here millions of years ago when a vast sea covered this area, provides the final ingredient. Hot water with dissolved carbon dioxide makes a weak solution of calcium carbonate, the primary chemical compound in limestone. At the surface, the calcium carbonate is deposited in the form of travertine, the rock that forms the terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs.