Yellowstone: Mammoth Hot Springs The Mammoth Hot Springs Historic District includes Fort Yellowstone. Fort Yellowstone was created to stop the exploitation and damage being done by people after Yellowstone National Park was opened in 1872. Civilian Superintendents proved to be ineffective. In 1886 the U.S. Army took over and lasted there for the next 30 years. Their purpose was to quell vandalism and educate people in how to better use the park's wildlife, resources and appreciate its scenic beauty. The U.S. Army's service in Yellowstone proved to be the harbinger for the National Park Service. "Mammoth Hot Springs are a surficial expression of the deep volcanic forces at work in Yellowstone. Although these springs lie outside the caldera boundary, their energy is attributed to the same magmatic system that fuels other Yellowstone thermal areas. Hot water flows from Norris to Mammoth along a fault line roughly associated with the Norris to Mammoth road. Shallow circulation along this corridor allows Norris’ super‐heated water to cool somewhat before surfacing at Mammoth, generally at about 170° F." "Thermal water (temperature about 160 degrees F) moves up through the old terrace deposits along preexisting vertical linear planes of weakness. As the water reaches the surface, pressure is released, carbon dioxide escapes as a gas, and bicarbonate in the water is partitioned into more carbon dioxide and carbonate; the carbonate then combines with calcium to precipitate calcium carbonate, forming travertine…the terraces abound with unusual hot‐spring deposits such as terracettes, cones, and fissure ridges." Mammoth Hot Springs is a complex of nearly 100 hot springs that emanate from the top of limestone terraces. Primitive bacterial organisms are found in the springs and are being studied to help cure diseases. In the past, researchers feared that the springs may dry up, but this has not been the case. The geothermal attractions are signed with warnings of being burned if you fall off the wooded pathways and of wildlife such as grizzlies and bison that come to the springs. There are also many large sink holes that were thermally active thousands of years ago.

The legacy of Fort Yellowstone can best be said by John Muir, "Father of the National Parks" and a famous naturalist. He wrote, "Blessings on Uncle Sam's Soldiers. They have done the job well, and every pine tree is waving it arms for joy." The improvements made to the roads, protection and management of wildlife and enforcement organizaed to protect the land for the future was the army's doing. Today visitors can go to the Albright Museum and learn about the work of U.S. Army. Sources: https://yellowstone.net/intro/mammoth‐hot‐springs/, https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/explore‐mammoth.htm, https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/mammoth‐hot‐springs‐wyoming‐unique‐places‐around‐the‐world.html, https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/b1444, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Hot_Springs_Historic_District, https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/yell‐tour‐fort‐yellowstone.htm, https://www.yellowstonepark.com/park/historic‐fort‐yellowstone, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Yellowstone, and https://www.crazyfamilyadventure.com/visiting‐mammoth‐hot‐springs‐in‐yellowstone‐national‐park‐with‐your‐family/. acuri.net John R. Vincenti Yellowstone: Mammoth Hot Springs