Swirls: As a photographer, I was amazed at the colorful swirls created in this hydrothermal pool in Yellowstone, swirling colors creating an abstract work of art. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Tree Trunks: Trunks of dead trees stand in multicolored water in this larger hydrothermal pool. The branches and debris add to the abstract design in the image. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 and is our oldest national park in the United States. Known for its natural beauty, the wildlife, and the geothermal features makes it one of the most popular national parks even today.
Yellowstone possesses some of the world’s most fascinating geological, geothermal and hydrothermal features. It is an active volcano and one of the most dynamic geological areas in the world. There are thousands of earthquakes annually, but most are not noticed by people.
The geological makeup of the park is always changing. The boiling hot water loaded with minerals seeping to the surface of the hydrothermal features in the park create beautiful and colorful pools on the surface. Many varieties of algae and bacteria found in these hydrothermal features also help create the many colors seen in the pools.
As I visited site after site throughout the park, these colorful pools and mineral deposits continued to catch my eye and the lens of my camera.
Most are reds, yellows and oranges, as well as shades of blues and almost any color of the rainbow. In addition to the colors created in the pools, textures of the ground below create many abstract patterns.
The images seen in this post are both close up views and wide views of several of these colorful and abstract designs within the hydrothermal pools in Yellowstone National Park.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn were traveling around the country prior to the pandemic and he has been sharing his photographs, which appear in the ‘Posts from the Road’ series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Splash of Red: This image shows almost completely shades of whites, grays, and pastels except for the splash of red and orange in the pool on the left which created a stark contrast to the rest of the image. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Multi-Colors: The range and diversity of colors in this pool in Yellowstone show off many colors of the rainbow while creating a beautiful design. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Warm Water: The warm colors of reds, oranges, yellows and brown create an interesting abstract view of this pool seen in the mammoth hot springs area of Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Blast of Orange: The intense oranges and yellows and swirling design in this image create a striking view of a hydrothermal pool in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com