Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, WY

Yellowstone National Park is filled with about half the world's known geysers. The park is located just north of Jackson in Wyoming. In the northern section of the park is a place called Norris Geyser Basin. This basin is on the upper loop of roads that wend their way through the park. To reach Norris you must pass the Museum of the National Park Ranger, and Norris Geyser Basin Museum if driving from the south, west, or east. Coming from the north out of Montana you will pass by Indian Creek before reaching Norris Geyser Basin. One must elect to head towards the basin because the loop can also take you east towards Tower Junction when heading south out of Montana.

Norris Geyser Basin is considered the hottest area in Yellowstone with most variable thermal changes. There are two and a quarter miles of hiking trails to take you through the various geysers that make up the basin. Many of the geysers in the basin are active year round and a few of the geysers have become hot springs where microorganisms can be found. From the museum mentioned above you can take two loop trails: Porcelain Basin and Back Basin.

During a tour of the Norris Geyser Basin visitors can move from Porcelain Basin to Black Growler Steam Vent. The steam can reach 199 to 280 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it different from the geysers. Ledge Geyser is also on the path from Porcelain Basin where visitors can watch steam and air reach 125 feet into the air. The angle is such that it will actually reach the ground 220 feet away. Ledge Geyser is not a consistently active one; in fact it was dormant from 1979 to 1993, and had a fairly regular cycle in 1994 to 1995. There are ten stops on the Porcelain Basin route. Other geysers include Congress Pool, Hot springs, Blue Geyser, Whirligig Geysers, Colorful Water, Whales Mouth, and Crackling Lake.

Back Basin Loop has seven geysers: Emerald Spring, Steamboat, Cistern Spring, Echinus, Green Dragon, Porkchop, and Minute Geyser. Porkchop is one of the more interesting geysers on this route due to its history. The geyser had an eruption of such power one day that it actually exploded the cone of the geyser. Now the earth is no longer in the shape of the Porkchop that it was named for.

Minute Geyser used to be one of the more regular Norris Geyser Basin attractions, hence its name. However, over time the geyser has become irregular, no longer erupting every sixty seconds. It used to reach heights of 40 to 50 feet. Now the vent is smaller. This occurred in part to the need of removing some rocks on the western side of the vent. Heavy equipment damaged the rest of the geyser. The trek along Norris Basin is one of the more flat routes with beautiful trees and water for vacationers to enjoy. The paths have wooden walkways in certain areas to make it accessible to all.