Abyss Pool is a hot spring

Hot spring

A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...

 in the West Thumb Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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History

The pool was named by Chief Park Naturalist Clyde M. Bauer, possibly after a reference to Lieutenant G.C. Doane

Gustavus Cheyney Doane

Gustavus Cheyney Doane was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition.-Early life:...

's 1870 description of a spring in this area which spoke of the visibility of objects in the "deep abysses" of the pool. A visitor in 1883 described it as "a great, pure, sparkling sapphire rippling with heat.".

Geology

Abyss Pool has a depth of 53 feet (16.2 m). The pool erupted for the first time in recorded history between August 1987 and September 1991 and again between December 1991 and June 1992. The eruptions were between 30 feet (9.1 m) and 100 feet (30.5 m) high. Since 1992, the pool has returned to its non-eruptive state.