A paint pot in Yellowstone National Park, WY
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- August 1978
- Location
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
- License
- This photograph copyright ©1978. All Rights Reserved
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Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for geothermal, geyser, glacier, hot spring, mud pot, national parks, paint pot, supervolcano, volcanic activity, volcanoes, WY, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone Caldera, and Yellowstone National Park.
In the classroom
- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
A paint pot in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. A paint pot, also known as a mudpot, is a pool of clay and silica dissolved by the transformation of hydrogen sulfide gas into sulfuric acid. Early summer sees the paint pots thin and watery with snow melt and rain, but by the end of summer, the pots are a seething, bubbling mineral stew.
In 1872, Yellowstone became the world’s first national park. The park preserves and protects a stunning variety of flora and fauna, including large mammals such as elk, wolves, bison, moose, and grizzly bears. The park’s most common ecosystem is the subalpine forest. It is famous for its hot springs and geysers. Thousands come to see Old Faithful every year. Yellowstone Lake is located over the Yellowstone Caldera, an enormous supervolcano, and the park’s geothermal features are powered by volcanic activity. From 11,000 years ago to around 200 years ago, the park was home to several different groups of Native Americans.
