Old faithful & the Yellowstone Caldera

Listed under Volcanoes in Mountain States, United States.

Old Faithful is the best known but only one of a myriad of geysers in this beautiful national park. The tame geysers and hot pools are, in fact, sitting inside the world's largest volcanic caldera, the site of truly catastrophic eruptions. If Yellowstone erupted again with the force that it did some 600,000 years ago, it would devastate large areas of the US. These days it is one of the most beautiful parks in the world and one of the most popular. Apart from the 400 or so geysers, you can see colourful hot springs, bubbling mudpots, sulfur deposits, a spectacular waterfall in a canyon and wildlife including bison, elk, and bears. This is a volcano for everyone, from children to the elderly. During winter, Yellowstone gets extreme weather and many areas are not open. Best times to visit are from late Spring to early Fall. Summers can be crowded, as this is a very popular park. It is also huge in area so plan on spending several days and maybe moving lodgings. There are several places to stay in the park, including campgrounds, cabins, and the superb Old Faithful Inn, which is worth seeing even if you cannot afford to stay there.

Written by  Rosaly Lopes.

“Yellowstone Caldera”

Yellowstone, the world’s first National Park, is the site of a “supervolcano” that only erupts every half million years or so – which is fortunate as its prehistoric eruptions devastated much of North America! Today the heat generated by Yellowstone’s v… Read more...

Written by  Mike Lyvers.

“Yellowstone”

Underneath Yellowstone National Park is one of the earths biggest supervolcanoes, and scientific studies have recently shown that seismic activity there is increasing. The whole Yellowstone system is expected to blow at some point in an eruption 2,500 … Read more...

Written by  Hamish Holl.

Comments, reviews and questions

Photo of farheen

what is old faithful mountain

old faithful mountains

 
Question posted 3rd October 2009 by farheen.

1 reply...

Photo of Emilie Stokes

Old faithful is the geyser, not the mountain! It's called faithful 'cause it goes off faithfully!

 
Reply posted 3rd October 2009 by Emilie Stokes.

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