Unique Dive YellowstoneText and photos by Jennifer Idol — An Extreme Experience 53 X-RAY MAG : 75 : 2016 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO unique dive Yellowstone Turqouise Pool (above) and Great Fountain Geyser (previ- C A N A D A ous page) at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA WA MT ND ME OR MN VT A volcano larger than the US states of NH ID SD WI NY MA Delaware and Rhode Island combined, WY MI CT RI IA PA NJ Pacific Ocean NV NE OH MD Yellowstone National Park is a geo- UT IL IN DE CO WV VA thermal hotspot that attracts more than CA KS MO KY NC AZ TN four million visitors a year. Wildlife roam NM OK AR SC the landscape freely in this caldera, MS AL GA TX LA Atlantic Ocean defined by ongoing thermal activity. In HI M E X I C O FL AK this unique landscape, opportunities for Gulf of exploration above and below the water Mexico line abound. DOMAIN INTERIOR / PUBLIC US DEPT OF Mountains towering over Jackson Hole Valley, an Yellowstone National Park is a remote wilderness. impressive destination. We finally reached the south The closest major airports are six to eight hours entrance, an hour north of Grand Teton National away by car in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Denver, Park. Entering the park feels like reaching the edge Colorado. I started the 24-hour drive from Texas at of Texas and having hours of driving ahead before dawn with my buddy Doug Harder. We watched reaching the final destination. as flat plains in the Texas panhandle gave way to Slow speed limits protect people and wildlife. Rocky Mountains in Colorado. We completed our Either may jump out from the forest at any moment. drive the first day as the moon rose and continued I booked my tent site at Bridge Bay Campground, our journey the next day. another hour from the south entrance. We headed On the second day of driving, we looked left as west past the impressive Lewis Lake and then north we neared Yellowstone and noted the Grand Teton along Yellowstone Lake, the largest lake at high Yellowstone Lake (above) at night—it is the largest lake at high elevation in North America; Diver Trey Lessard (top right) enters the water at Bridge Bay in Yellowstone Lake; Location of Yellowstone National Park on US map (left) 54 X-RAY MAG : 75 : 2016 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO unique dive Wildlife abounds in Yellowstone: elk (above( and grizzly bear (left) in Hayden Vallety elevation in North America. West they first called it “Wonderland”. Thumb Geyser Basin hurled steam Individual ideas and actions into the air on the south side of the make a powerful difference for the lake. world around us, as seen in the his- Yellowstone is one of the world’s tory of people’s appreciation for largest calderas. It feels flat and Yellowstone National Park. It is the strange compared to the surround- world’s first national park, estab- ing landscape. The last eruption lished 1 March 1872. More than destroyed the mountains in the 100 nations have since created an center and only left mountains on estimated 1,200 national parks or the park’s perimeter. Nonetheless, equivalent preserves. the lowest point in elevation is This beginning of park develop- 1,610m (5,282ft) and our dive would ment led to other parks in the United be conducted at 2,357m (7,733ft). States, which then led to the crea- tion of the National Park Service on A storied history 25 August 1916. We celebrate the Evidence from archaeological sites centennial of our national parks this shows people have inhabited the year because Yellowstone National area for more than 11,000 years. Park was deemed an area worth When Europeans first visited the protecting from development and region in the 1800s, they were so misuse and led to the protection of moved by the proliferation of life other important resources. View of Yellowstone River in Hayden Valley (above); Lower Falls at Artist Point (top right) 55 X-RAY MAG : 75 : 2016 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO unique dive Yellowstone Turqouise Pool (above) near Grand Prismatic Spring—a year later its color has changed (see previous page) due to due to damaged bacterial mats; Daisy Geyser erupts (right) Yellowstone has also been des- park, I read park news and notices. ignated a UNESCO World Heritage The park issues alerts for areas Site and a biosphere reserve. This closed to the public and new rules. means Yellowstone is part of a net- This year, five notable incidents in work of reserves devoted to the the park became national news. conservation of nature and scientif- The first incident involved a person ic research and is part of a select list of globally protected areas whose natural and cultural resources ben- efit all people. Too hot to touch The geysers and thermal features throughout the park are the most visible reason for a storied history of fascination with this wilderness. More than half the world’s geysers and 10,000 thermal features are found in this world of extremes. Water tem- peratures range from 257°C (459°F) in Norris Geyser Basin to the cold waters of Yellowstone Lake at 5°C who died when they left the are solid ground or fragile crust. (41°F). This makes the world’s first protected boardwalk and Additionally, between 1,000 national park an unlikely destination fell through thin crust into a and 3,000 earthquakes shake for diving, yet I return annually. hot spring in Norris Geyser Yellowstone and change geyser Since thermal features are dan- Basin, the hottest thermally behavior every year. Old Faithful gerous and often reach tempera- active area. Although the is named for its predictable erup- tures above boiling point, swimming landscape looks solid, it is a tions. Seismic activity has changed is limited to Firehole Canyon near wild and unpredictable land. the eruption cycle, so the interval Madison Junction. The most injuries Even scientists and park between eruptions seems to be and deaths in the park are due to rangers who study the area increasing. Predictable geyser times thermal areas. Every year I visit the cannot predict which areas are listed at the visitor center in the Old Faithful erupts (above); Upper Falls (right) 56 X-RAY MAG : 75 : 2016 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO unique dive Yellowstone View overlooking Grand Prismatic Spring (above); Minor eruption of Castle Geyser (top left) Old Faithful lodge area. Each The spring features unreal fly drones in any United States lists the expected time of erup- colors. The bacteria that form national parks. tion, plus or minus time when the the colors around the pool dis- geyser could possibly erupt. play colors depending on the Defined by water The second most recognized temperature in which they grow. From geysers and springs to feature, Grand Prismatic Spring, Another unfortunate incident lakes and rivers, Yellowstone also experienced two national may change those colors over National Park is defined by incidents. Fortunately, no one time. A drone flew across the water. Glaciers from the last two was hurt in either. However, a spring and lost contact, then million years and up to 14,000 group of amateur videographers falling into the center of the years ago shaped Yellowstone left the boardwalk and irrepara- spring. Anything that falls into a Lake. Yellowstone River flows bly damaged the bacterial mats thermal feature is irretrievable from Yellowstone Lake through that provide the color surround- due to extreme temperatures. Hayden Valley and carved the ing the spring to share their Objects in springs block the flow Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. adventure through social media. of water and cool their tem- Upper and Lower Falls are two It can result in a $1,000 fine to peratures, causing man-made of more than 290 waterfalls leave the boardwalk. change. It is a felony offense to in the park, and are the most Thermophiles in Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone National Park Large leaf lupine flowers 57 X-RAY MAG : 75 : 2016 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO TIPS FOR THE ADVENTURER ● Save money and experience two parks by purchasing an Yellowstone unique dive annual parks pass. ● Bring a light jacket in the sum- impressive. Lower Falls descends maximum depth of 131m (430ft), so mer and heavy winter clothes the 94m (308ft) into the canyon. can accommodate any dive plan rest of the year. I dive Yellowstone Lake to explore imagined. I usually plan shore dives, siliceous spires in Bridge Bay, an but could rent a boat from Bridge ● Make lodging reservations one unusual feature created after Bay Marina. While this is a cold year in advance. the last glacial retreat, that rise water dive at altitude, I enjoy the up to 6m (20ft) from the bottom. good visibility and exploration. The ● The nearest SCUBA shop is They look like solidified smoke that lake is enormous and makes me Yellowstone Divers. Advance squeezed through a chimney. The feel like a piece of straw in a hay notice is needed for equipment delicate spires are thought to have field. and may need to be rented from formed while underwater and are Few visitors experience the shops in Salt Lake City or Denver.