Opal Pool
Encyclopedia
Opal Pool is a hot spring
in the Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park
, Wyoming
. Opal Pool usually has a temperature of approximately 132 °F (55.6 °C). Though usually active as a hot spring, Opal Pool is considered a fountain-type geyser.
The first recorded eruption of Opal Pool was in 1947, recurring in 1949, 1952 and 1953, then ceasing. Eruptions resumed in 1979, happening at least once in most following years. Eruption heights are typically under 30 feet (9.1 m) in height, but some eruptions have been seen with heights of 70 feet (21.3 m) to 80 feet (24.4 m). Eruptions occur suddenly following visible convection in the pool, but are unpredictable. The eruption consists of one, huge, burst that throws water 20-80 feet high, making Opal Pool the largest active geyser at Midway Geyser Basin. Much smaller splashes seconds apart stretch the total duration to about 1 minute. Sometime in 2005 Opal completely drained, but it refilled as a beautiful green pool in 2008.
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 Midway 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...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. Opal Pool usually has a temperature of approximately 132 °F (55.6 °C). Though usually active as a hot spring, Opal Pool is considered a fountain-type geyser.
The first recorded eruption of Opal Pool was in 1947, recurring in 1949, 1952 and 1953, then ceasing. Eruptions resumed in 1979, happening at least once in most following years. Eruption heights are typically under 30 feet (9.1 m) in height, but some eruptions have been seen with heights of 70 feet (21.3 m) to 80 feet (24.4 m). Eruptions occur suddenly following visible convection in the pool, but are unpredictable. The eruption consists of one, huge, burst that throws water 20-80 feet high, making Opal Pool the largest active geyser at Midway Geyser Basin. Much smaller splashes seconds apart stretch the total duration to about 1 minute. Sometime in 2005 Opal completely drained, but it refilled as a beautiful green pool in 2008.
See also
- List of Yellowstone geothermal features
- Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone National ParkYellowstone 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...
- Geothermal areas of YellowstoneGeothermal areas of YellowstoneThe geothermal areas of Yellowstone include several geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park as well as other geothermal features such as hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles...